Scotland faces travel disruption as weather warnings stay in place

Scotland faces travel disruption as yellow weather warnings for wind, rain, snow and ice stay in place.

While a previous Amber weather warning for snow has been downgraded, yellow weather warnings remain in place throughout the majority of the country, with wind warnings reaching as far as the Orkney and Shetland Isles.

Many roads are currently facing disruption due to flooding, Traffic Scotland has said.

Roads affected are the A92 northbound at Portlethen, A77 northbound at Sandyford-Dutch House, A90 Toll of Birness in both directions, A737 eastbound at Lochwinnoch-Howwood, A82 northbound at Dumbuck Quarry and A78 Fairlie in both directions.

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A83 traffic is being rerouted onto Old Military Road as the current weather forecast indicates 60mm of rainfall in 24 hours which will result in a significant increase in hillside saturation levels.

As a precaution, the Old Military Road Local Diversion Route will be in use to allow road users travelling along the A83 Rest and Be Thankful to continue their journey safely.

A decision will be made about returning traffic to the A83 trunk road by midday on Monday January 12 following a hillside inspection and subject to the forecast improving.

Euan Scott, Bear Scotland’s north west representative, said: “The safety of road users is the priority for Bear Scotland and we closely monitor conditions at the Rest and Be Thankful on a daily basis.

“Heavy rainfall is expected throughout Sunday, which will increase saturation levels on the hillside. We have therefore made the decision to utilise the Old Military Road as a proactive safety measure.

“The use of this route maintains access to the A83 corridor for the travelling public, keeping Argyll very much open for business with minimal delays of around 20 minutes.

“Subject to the weather improving, we plan to inspect the hillside thoroughly on Monday January 12 and this will inform a decision to return traffic to the A83.”

There have also been several ferry cancellations including in Oban, Troon, Mallaig, Ullapool and Largs.

ScotRail has also noted disruption due to flooding on the line near Barrhill meaning services between Ayr and Stranraer are disrupted.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has a flood warning in place for the Churchill Barriers causeway area, Orkney, which connects the main island to the island of South Ronaldsay through Burray and the islands of Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm.

It also has nine less severe flood alerts in place throughout various parts of Scotland.

On Saturday, the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) met, stating the country faces a “multi-hazard” weekend of weather warnings.

The group was attended by the First Minister and chaired by the Justice and Home Affairs Secretary, who were joined by representatives from Sepa, the Met Office, Police Scotland, local authorities and other organisations.

Justice and Home Affairs Secretary Angela Constance previously said: “At today’s SGoRR meeting the Met Office advised partners how we are facing a complicated multi-hazard event, affecting various parts of the country in different ways and at different times over Sunday and into Monday.

“It involves various combinations of continued snowfall, milder conditions leading to snowmelt, and with heavy rain in some areas leading to a flooding risk from Sunday afternoon.

“Given that complexity I was reassured to hear how partners remain stood up and are working tirelessly across the weekend to continue supporting communities and to respond as the conditions and the nature of the hazards change.

“I am grateful for the work of partners, from frontline responders and agencies to contractors, voluntary groups and individuals who have worked so hard to respond to the impacts of this prolonged period of heavy snowfall and other wintry weather.”

She added: “The sustained nature of this weather event, and the different elements of it, are clearly very challenging for communities and responders alike, given the difficulties already caused by the weather since the start of the year.

“As ever, I would encourage people to follow the advice for their local area provided by key agencies, online and on social media, including from the Met Office, Sepa and Police Scotland and to plan ahead for the coming days.”

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, previously said: “As a result of forecast severe weather in some parts of Scotland, it’s likely that there will be disruption to ScotRail services on some routes.

“We may also see speed restrictions implemented across parts of the network meaning that some journeys may take longer than usual.

“We would urge passengers to check their full journey before they travel using the ScotRail website, app, or our social media channels.

“Our teams across Scotland will be working flat out to keep people moving where possible in difficult weather conditions.

“We’re grateful to our customers for their understanding as this period of severe weather continues.”

The north and north-east of Scotland have already seen several days of snowfall, ice and sub-zero temperatures which have led to school closures and travel disruption.

Assistant chief constable Alan Waddell, of Police Scotland, previously said: “We have been working closely with resilience partners across local authorities, other emergency service partners, transport partners, NHS and health and social care partnerships and other local organisations to support communities affected by adverse weather and keep public services open where possible.

“Some services may be impacted by adverse weather and I would encourage the public to check on neighbours or relatives, if they are able to do so safely.”