Storm Barra:  Fife emergency teams put on stand-by to tackle worst damage

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for strong winds across parts of Fife and the east coast on Tuesday, with gusts of up to 70mph anticipated.

That warning is in place throughout Tuesday, between 9am and midnight, while another yellow warning for heavy snow and rain also covers western parts of Fife and central Scotland from 11am until midnight.

With the alerts coming just a matter of days after Storm Arwen wreaked havoc across the Kingdom, Fife Council says its staff will once again work closely with Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and, in the case of Storm Arwen, SPEnergy Networks.

But it has also singled out the efforts of local community resilience groups who will once again be on standby and ready to help out if needed.

A council spokesperson said: “We want to give a big shout out especially to volunteers in East Neuk Community Emergency Planning Team (ENCEPT), Largo Area Community Response Team (LACRT), Newport, Wormit and Forgan Community Resilience Group and Tay Bridgehead Resilience Group.

“Throughout the storm they were monitoring the situation locally and were ready to step in with practical help if needed.

“While the emergency responders like the Police and SFRS have to prioritise bigger, Fife-wide issues, these local volunteers make a huge difference in our communities being able to provide the right support, in the right place at the right time.”

Fifers interested in starting up their own community resilience groups to co-ordinate local help can also get involved by visiting https://www.fife.gov.uk/…/readyfife/ready-communities.

The Met Office has suggested that as the system moves in from west, the strongest winds and impacts are expected to affect the Republic of Ireland.

However, it will then bring strong winds and rain to parts of Scotland and northern England, with the rain turning to snow in places.

Two to five centimetres of snow is expected across the warning area, which covers much of western Scotland and stretches into parts of Fife, Tayside and Clackmannanshire.

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