Edinburgh's weather: Heavy rain warning issued for Friday and Saturday

A weather warning has been issued for Edinburgh with thunderstorms and heavy downpours forecast for the Capital.

The Met Office has issued a yellow - “be aware” - severe weather warning for 9am to 10pm on Friday and 11am to 9pm on Saturday.

The agency said: “There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds.

“There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life “Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services

“Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures

“There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.”

A spokeswoman said scattered heavy showers and thunderstorms were likely to develop on Friday, particularly in the afternoon, which would ease only slowly through the evening.

She said: “Some places will miss the worst of the heavy showers and thunderstorms, but where they do occur they are likely to bring torrential rain with the potential for 20-30 mm of rain to fall in an hour and perhaps as much as 50-60 mm in three hours in a few locations. “Lightning and large hail are also possible.” On Saturday, heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop by late morning across inland Scotland.

A yellow warning has been issued.

The Met Office spokeswoman said: “Some of the storms could be severe, and with generally light winds, will be slow-moving. “Whilst some areas may escape with a dry day, where storms do develop some torrential downpours are possible. “There is the potential for 20-30 mm of rain to fall in an hour, and as much as 50-70 mm in two to three hours. “As well as heavy rain, frequent lightning and some large hail are also possible.”