Scotland weather: North East hit with fresh weather warning after weeks of 'endless' rain

It comes after weeks of persistent, heavy rainfall across the region, which has brought flooding and disruption affecting everything from pothole repairs to north sea oil workers.

The latest rain warnings run from 9am on Tuesday through till 11.59pm on Wednesday.

Tuesday’s warning covers Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray.

The warning is carried through for the same areas on Wednesday, except Moray. Fife is also included in the affected areas on Wednesday.

Two flood warnings are currently in place in parts of Tayside and four less severe flood alerts are in force in other parts of eastern and north east Scotland.

In its three-day flood forecast, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency warned of potential flooding from rivers and surface water in the coming days, which could affect homes and businesses, roads and other infrastructure.

The Met Office forecast said: “Persistent, and at times heavy rain, will fall onto already saturated ground over eastern Scotland, which may cause further disruption and localised flooding.

“5-30mm of rain is likely to fall quite widely with 40-60mm possible in places over higher ground.

“Some snow may affect the highest roads in Aberdeenshire by the end of Tuesday.

It has also warned of difficult driving conditions, and potential disruption to bus and train services.

The north-east has been battered by heavy rain and high winds in the last few weeks - with some areas recording their wettest January on record.

More than 277mm of rain fell on Aboyne in Aberdeenshire in January - about four times the monthly average.

In Aberdeen, there has been no reported sunshine since January 21, with experts saying it has been the city’s longest period without sunshine since Met Office records began in 1957.

Last week, it was revealed North Sea oil companies were removing offshore staff from their sites amid the severe weather, which has resulted in supplies including fresh food and fresh water running short.

Ithaca has reduced its offshore workers with only essential workers remaining on site, while TotalEnergies has reduced staff numbers on its Elgin platform to manage water supplies for cleaning and cooking.

Several sporting events have also been called off in recent weeks. Celtic's visit to Aberdeen was postponed last week due to heavy rain, as was Dundee's match against Motherwell.

Dundee United against Spartans and Aberdeen's meeting with Motherwell on Saturday evening were also called off due to a waterlogged pitch.