Edinburgh weather: Thunderstorm turns streets into rivers

The storm has caused massive disruption across the city.

Edinburgh’s streets were transformed into rivers late last night, as the city was battered by powerful thunderstorms.

Extraordinary footage has emerged showing residents struggling to make their way down a flight of steps near Calton Hill in ankle-deep rain water, while cars were abandoned in Canonmills as police shut Huntly Street due to flooding.

One local resident called the storm “spooky”, exclaiming: “I’ve never seen anything like this...It’s been going like this non-stop for quite some time.”

Another told followers on Twitter: “Wow the storm over Scotland is spectacular right now.”

One local who had spent time abroad likened it to a monsoon, saying she felt like she was “in the tropics again.”

It comes amid fresh flood warnings for much of Scotland as emergency services respond to multiple reports of localised flooding across Fife and the Lothians.

It is understood that a blaze at a house in Braes, Falkirk, started after it was struck by lightning during the storm.

Edinburgh’s streets were transformed into rivers late last night, as the city was battered by powerful thunderstorms.

This morning, ScotRail announced its express services from Falkirk High and Falkirk Grahamston were cancelled due to flooding in the region.

The rail operator also asked passengers travelling between Edinburgh and Glasgow to use the Glasgow Queen Street Low Level entrance.

ScotRail told followers on Twitter: “We're working hard to get these services up and running again as quickly as possible.”

Yesterday, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) put in place flood alerts in 17 regions covering most of Scotland, which remain in force today.

Images show cars abandoned in Canonmills as police shut Huntly Street due to flooding.

And the Met Office has placed an amber thunderstorm warning over a large part of eastern Scotland, including West Lothian, Edinburgh, Fife, and large parts of the Highlands.

The forecasters said the ongoing electrical storms are “likely to bring some flooding and disruption to power supplies overnight into Wednesday.”

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