Rain warnings are back in place in parts of the UK – kicking off four days of miserable weather as communities reel from the impact of Storm Babet.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for downpours in Scotland and Northern Ireland from midday on Friday, including areas hit by flooding last week.
In Scotland, it covers Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee, and Perth and Kinross.
It will last until at least 6pm on Saturday, and the Scottish Flood Forecast warned “significant flooding impacts” are likely across the next few days.
Heavy rain is set to fall on areas that already have high water levels and saturated ground due to Storm Babet.
Among the worst-hit areas braced for more rain is Brechin in Angus, where hundreds of homes had to be evacuated after the River South Esk burst its banks.
First Minister Humza Yousaf visited the town this week and pledged Scottish government funding, but warned: “It’s going to be a long road to recovery.”
Warnings in place for England and Northern Ireland
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A separate Met Office yellow warning also covers the east coast of Northern Ireland, including Ballycastle, Larne, Donaghadee, and Newcastle.
Come Saturday, another alert will extend to parts of southern and eastern England, with London, Kent, Sussex, and Essex all potentially experiencing disruption.
Image: The warning covers the east coast of Northern Ireland
It is expected to remain until the end of Sunday, while the warning in Scotland will last into Monday – by then having extended south towards Stirling and Edinburgh.
The Met Office has said there is a small chance of power cuts to homes and businesses, as well as flooding, public transport disruption, and difficult driving conditions.
Sky News’s weather presenter Kirsty McCabe said low pressure would dominate this weekend, “bringing spells of strong winds and heavy rain that may exacerbate recent flooding and bring travel disruption”.
Image: The warning in Scotland will spread south beyond Edinburgh by Monday
“Parts of eastern Scotland could get another 50 to 100mm of rain over the next few days, with as much as 150mm over the hills,” she added.
“This isn’t great news for those areas badly affected by Storm Babet last weekend, and there are still flood warnings in force.
“Elsewhere there will be heavy showers for eastern counties of Northern Ireland, southwest Wales and southeast England.
“Southern parts of England could have a very wet weekend as heavy and thundery showers merge into longer spells of rain along with gusty winds. This could prove particularly disruptive, with standing water and spray on some major roads.”
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Hundreds of homes submerged
Railways braced for more disruption
Ahead of the rain’s return, ScotRail has already suspended some services.
There will be no direct trains running between the Central Belt and Aberdeen and Inverness until Sunday.
LNER has warned of delays between Edinburgh and Newcastle, while TransPennine Express and CrossCountry are operating reduced timetables.
Network Rail Scotland warned: “More extremely heavy rain is on the way.
“It won’t be to the levels of Storm Babet, but it will affect the same areas with saturated ground.
All flights were halted at Edinburgh Airport this morning due to an IT issue affecting its air traffic control provider.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the airport later announced service had resumed.
Its post read: “Flights have now resumed following the IT issue with our air traffic provider.
“We thank passengers for their patience and understanding.”
But passengers continue to feel the effects.
A Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Edinburgh was diverted to Dublin after going into a holding pattern over the Scottish capital.
And a live arrivals board on the airport’s website showed multiple flights diverted, delayed and cancelled.
Image: Arrivals board at Edinburgh Airport. Pic: Edinburgh Airport
Morven McCall and Cody Stevenson, both 19, were due to fly easyJet from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on their first trip away together.
Morven told Sky News: “We literally just got into the airport and as soon as we walked through the door there was an announcement that it had been cancelled.
“I was ill over the summer and had to cancel two holidays already, this was our first time going away together. We are just gutted and stressed.”
Image: Arrivals at Edinburgh Airport. File pic: PA
One passenger was on a plane when they found out.
They said: “We boarded our flight and pushed back on time for an 8.45 (am) departure, then sat for a while before the pilot told us what was happening.
“He updated us a couple of times, cabin crew are brilliant at handing out water etc, and I’m surprised that everyone appears to be upbeat. But then you do wonder how long for, just been told we’re hoping to be in the air in 20 minutes.”
Another passenger told us: “The first news was from the airport announcement as we were halfway through boarding, saying the airfield was closed due to air traffic control down.
“No one knew what was going on. We’d already been delayed a bit before boarding, with no reason. I suspect problems started about 9am.”
It comes after an earlier announcement that all flights had been halted.
“No flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport,” the previous statement said.
“Teams are working on the issue and will resolve as soon as possible.”
There was no timeframe for recovery initially, Sky News learned.
It’s understood by PA that the issue was not linked to today’s Cloudflare outage.
Edinburgh Trams also posted on X, writing: “If you’re travelling with us to @EDI_Airport this morning, please be aware that flights are not currently operating.”
The airport urged passengers to contact their airline for the latest information on flights.
An average of 43,000 passengers per day use the airport, which is served by 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations.
The police watchdog says it is investigating after a teenager who was tasered by an officer on a motorway was fatally hit by a car.
Logan Smith, 18, was being taken to hospital in an ambulance at about 11pm on Sunday when the vehicle stopped on the hard shoulder of the M5 in Somerset.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the vehicle stopped on the northbound carriageway “due to the concerns of ambulance staff”.
Mr Smith got out of the ambulance near the junction for Weston-super-Mare and “entered the live lanes of the motorway”, the watchdog added.
Police were called and an officer arrived at the scene, with bodycam footage showing the officer discharging their Taser, causing the teenager to fall to the ground.
“Soon afterwards” Mr Smith was struck by a car travelling on the southbound carriageway, the IOPC said.
The watchdog said it was investigating the “actions and decisions taken by Avon and Somerset Police prior to the death of a teenager”.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “My thoughts and sympathies are with Logan’s family and friends and everyone affected by this shocking and tragic incident.
“We want to reassure everyone that we will independently investigate all the circumstances surrounding this incident, including the use of a Taser.
“After being notified by the force, we sent our investigators to the police post incident procedure to begin gathering evidence.
“We have taken initial accounts from the officer and ambulance staff involved.
“We met with Logan’s family on Tuesday, to give our condolences, explain our role and to provide some further detail about our investigation, including a Taser being discharged during the incident.
“We will continue to keep them updated and they request that their privacy be respected at such a difficult time.”
The coroner has been informed and formal identification and a post-mortem have taken place.
A former doctor has been charged over alleged sexual assaults on 38 patients in his care.
Nathaniel Spencer, 38, has been charged with 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, three counts of assault a child under 13 by penetration and one count of attempted assault by penetration.
It follows a police investigation into alleged sexual offences between 2017 and 2021.
Staffordshire Police said in a statement the charges come after a complex investigation by the Public Protection Unit into sexual offences at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Russells Hall Hospital, in Dudley.
Image: North Staffordshire Justice Centre
Ben Samples, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said: “We have decided to prosecute Nathaniel Spencer for a number of serious sexual offences allegedly carried out against patients while he was working as a doctor – including assault by penetration and sexual assault against a child.
“Our prosecutors have worked at length to support a detailed and complex investigation by Staffordshire Police, carefully reviewing the available evidence to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.”
Spencer, from Birmingham, will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre on 20 January 2026.
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