Flooding in Edinburgh after second night of heavy rain and thunder

SEPA has commented that the flooding is due to a combination of rainfall and snow melt and added that typical impacts may include disruption to travel and flooding of low-lying land, roads and isolated properties.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, Edinburgh residents were woken as a second night of loud thunder rocked the city, followed by hail and heavy rain, adding to the already rising water levels.

Rising water levels and heavy rain

In the early hours of Saturday morning, residents across Edinburgh and the Lothians were awoken again by thunderous crashes followed by heavy rainfall and hail which has contributed to the flooding this morning.

Concerning pictures taken late on Friday showed the Water of Leith levels rising as it passed by Stockbridge and Canonmills.

Evening News readers commented on how the weather conditions had been affecting them.

Jan Marshall wrote: “Lots of thunder during the night in Musselburgh, along with some sleet showers. Didn't see any lightning though. It's been raining for over 24 hours, and like living in the dark.”

Flooding was spotted at Edinburgh airport this morning

Izzy Davidson said: “Thunder and lightning in Forfar last night. Was out with dog at the time. Ran home as I'm terrified of it.”

Shirley Manson added: “Was on the nightshift thought the ward roof was going to come down the hailstones were like golf balls.”

Additionally, there were reports of a house being set alight after being struck in the Craigentinny area last night.

Travel Disruption

Tram services are disrupted due to flooding (Pic: Edinburgh Trams)

Those travelling by tram and train today have been warned of disruption after tracks were flooded.

Trains in Edinburgh have been severely affected and can be expected to be disrupted throughout the day due to flooding.

Those travelling between the Capital and Helensburgh via Bathgate are facing major delays and cancellations.

Services between Edinburgh and both Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street are also facing disruption and cancellations.

Services are operating approximately every 20 minutes to and from York Place and Edinburgh Park Station only. (Pic: Edinburgh Trams)

Additionally, services between Edinburgh Park and Linlithgow are also delayed by up to 20 minutes due to a signalling fault and the adverse weather.

Tram services are operating approximately every 20 minutes to and from York Place and Edinburgh Park Station only due to flooding near Edinburgh Airport and between Gyle Centre and Edinburgh Gateway.

Edinburgh Tram engineers are working to minimise the effects of the heavy rainfall to ensure the full route reservices as soon as the flooding subsides.

They continue to pump excess water however with the nearby Gogar Burn and River Almond at or above capacity, this is having little impact.

While the disruption is in place, customers are able to use their tickets on Lothian Buses to complete their journeys.

Clearer weather to come

The Water of Leith was seen to have rising levels last night (Pic: David C. Weinczok / @TheCastleHunter)

While a yellow weather warning remains in place for the north of the country, there are currently no weather warnings in place for Edinburgh and the Lothians with a drier day ahead.

The Met Office predicts a cloudy day for Edinburgh with just a 10 per cent chance of rain, peaking to a 30 per cent chance of rain at 5pm this evening.

The weather will remain overcast throughout Sunday again with little chance of rain and sunnier conditions on Sunday afternoon.

There is a 50 per cent chance of rain at 2am on Sunday morning.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.