Fife weather: Severe weather warnings for wind and rain as Storm Babet approaches

The Met Office has issued the yellow severe weather warning for wind covering much of the north of Scotland including Fife from 3am on Thursday morning until noon on Friday.

A yellow warning for rain is also in place for much of Scotland, including Fife, from 6am on Thursday morning until 6am on Saturday.

Now, the Met Office has issued an amber warning for rain in Fife from 10am to 6pm on Thursday.

Storm Babet – the second named storm of the season – is expected to hit Scotland from Wednesday until Saturday and is anticipated to cause flooding, power cuts and travel disruption in some places.

Yellow and amber warnings have been issued across the four days covering much of Scotland, eastern Northern Ireland, the north east of England, Yorkshire, the East Midlands and Anglia.

A red warning for rain has also been issued for parts of Tayside and Aberdeenshire from 6pm on Thursday to noon on Friday. Forecasters are warning of “exceptional rainfall” which is expected to cause “severe flooding and disruption”.

As much as 150 to 200mm of rain is expected to fall on central and eastern areas of Scotland with the possibility of 70mph gale-force winds, forecasters warned.

Storm Babet will bring a period of “very strong south easterly winds to much of central and northern Scotland”. The yellow warning issued by the Met Office says the wind may mean some disruption to travel; potential loss of power and some coastal routes will likely be affected by spray and/or large waves.

The yellow warning of rain means there may be spray and flooding causing issues on the roads and a “small chance” of flooding damage to properties and communities being cut off; while the amber warning suggests “extensive flooding to homes and businesses” is possible.

The Met Office say the warnings already issued may change with the forecast.

Steven Keates, Met Office chief meteorologist, said: “Heavy and persistent rain will fall onto already saturated ground bringing a risk of flooding. It is important to stay up to date with warnings from your local flood warning agency as well as the local authorities.

“For Scotland, this rain will be fairly heavy and persistent through much of the second half of the week and into the early part of the weekend. As well as heavy rain, Storm Babet will bring some very strong winds and large waves near some eastern coasts too.

“Gusts in excess of 60mph are possible in eastern and northern Scotland from Thursday. It is likely Met Office warnings will be updated through the week.”