Flood fears across Scotland as Storm Bert heads into second day

Storm Bert is bringing heavy rain and strong winds this Sunday.

Certain areas of Scotland are preparing for another day of disturbances due to strong winds and localized flooding, following Storm Bert, which brought significant snowfall and rainfall to the region.

The central region experienced more snowfall than expected early Saturday, leading to significant issues on the roads. The M8 was plagued by heavy traffic congestion, and two major routes heading south—the M74 and A68—were temporarily shut down because of accidents.

Lothian Buses halted all 70 of its routes in Edinburgh and nearby regions, causing interruptions in the train services as well.

The amber weather alert for rain and snow in eastern Scotland has been reduced to a yellow warning for rain, which will stay in effect until 9:00 AM on Sunday.

In a surprising decision, authorities decided to shut down the Queensferry Crossing over the Firth of Forth because of the danger posed by ice potentially breaking off and falling.

Traffic in the vicinity was redirected through the Forth Road Bridge. This detour is expected to remain effective until 1:00 AM on Sunday.

Traffic was redirected from the Queensferry Crossing to the Forth Road Bridge.

David Bishop from Bear Scotland, the organization responsible for national road upkeep, explained that the closure was necessitated by worries about ice forming on the bridge's 70 kilometers of cable stays. There's a risk that the ice could detach and lead to a serious traffic accident.

This is the first time the bridge has been closed since 2021.

All 700 buses in the Lothian Buses fleet were stopped for a large part of the day because of challenging road conditions.

The company announced that services had returned to normal by early Saturday evening.

The sightseeing buses in Edinburgh were called off, and there were interruptions to Citylink, McGill's, and First transport services.

A striking picture posted on social media depicted a bus that had gone off the road in Buchlyvie, a village located in the Stirling region.

Accidents occurred throughout the roadways as motorists faced difficulties due to the adverse conditions.

George Henry, who is in charge of road safety and policy at Transport Scotland, mentioned that the circumstances have been quite difficult.

He mentioned, "We've been working tirelessly to address our road conditions, with our teams actively out in the field, and we’ve deployed more than 240 snow plows."

"Sadly, we've encountered issues with several vehicles getting stuck because some have lost traction in different areas. We've been working hard to address this quickly in order to reduce the disruption for drivers."

Mr. Henry mentioned that specific events affected the M8 near Livingston and several areas along the M74 on Saturday.

He mentioned that concerns are now shifting towards the possibility of localized flooding due to increasing temperatures and melting snow.

"There will be plenty of standing water on the roads, so we strongly advise drivers to be cautious and adjust their speed according to the conditions they encounter," he said.

Flood warnings have been announced for various areas, including Dumfries and Galloway, the western Borders, Central Scotland, Tayside, Aberdeenshire, Dundee, and Angus.

A flood alert advising individuals to "take immediate action" has been issued for the Churchill Barriers in Orkney.

Through dedicated effort, certain Scottish football matches were successfully held.

Eleven SPFL matches were postponed, while the start times for three others were pushed back, including two in the Premiership.

One of the matches that was canceled was a League Two game between Cove Rangers and Stenhousemuir, as the visitors' bus became trapped in snow at Broxden Services near Perth.

More than 3,000 residences in England and Wales are currently experiencing power outages. Scotland has been less affected, with Scottish Power and SSE reporting only a handful of localized issues.

The Met Office has issued a warning that a quick melting of snow, followed by rain, could lead to more disturbances.

Most of Scotland will continue to have a yellow weather alert for rain and snow, lasting until 9:00 AM on Sunday.

On Sunday, the Highlands and Argyll and Bute will experience winds reaching speeds of 65 mph. A yellow warning is in effect from noon until midnight.

Meteorologists predict that Storm Bert will move at a sluggish pace and is not expected to start dissipating until Monday.

A snowplow removes the snow on George Street in Edinburgh during Storm Bert.

The snowfall didn’t stop everyone from going out, as a daring duo decided to take a walk through Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh.