Scotland is braced for strong winds, heavy rain, flooding and snowfall in a change to the unseasonably warm weather.

Rain and flood warnings have been put in place across the east of Scotland and the Borders as a band of bad weather moves across the country.

The Met Office has said that some parts could see a  month's worth of rain in the next 36 hours. 

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has issued 20 red flood alerts  for areas including Aberdeenshire, Tayside, Fife, Peebles, Edinburgh and the Lothians. 

Yellow rain alerts are in place until 6pm today across the east of Scotland.

Meanwhile, an amber rain warning is in place for the north-east from the early hours of this morning until 3pm.

Forecasters also predict the first snows of the winter will arrive in the Highlands, but be confined to high ground. 

Authorities said the rain will make driving difficult, with potential for reduced visibility and surface water, and conditions likely to affect travel on both the trunk road and rail network.

On Friday morning a lane of the M9 westbound was closed at J2 due to flooding, while in Fife the A92 was closed between the Parbroath Crossroads and Melville Lodges due to flooding and in Dunfermline, Halbeath Road was shut with diversions in place.

Average rainfall for November in Aberdeenshire is 113mm, while for Angus it is 122.8mm, meaning that if these areas do see 150mm of rain, more than a month’s worth of rain will fall in the space of just a couple of days.

ScotRail has imposed some speed restrictions on lines in the east of Scotland until midday.

Network Rail Scotland said journeys will take longer today on the East Coast Mainline between Edinburgh and the Borders, as well as between Aberdeen, Inverness and the Central Belt because of the “extremely high rainfall” which means train speeds need to be limited for safety.

Transport minister Jenny Gilruth said: “The Met Office is warning us to expect a period of difficult weather in parts of eastern Scotland throughout Friday, with heavy rain likely to impact travel in the amber warning area in the north east.

“The conditions could potentially bring disruption to the transport network, so it’s important people plan their journeys before they set off – particularly if they’re looking to use the trunk roads or travel by rail.

 “Motorists should make sure their routes are available, follow travel advice from Police Scotland and drive to the conditions.”

The Herald:

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said amber warning areas would experience more than 100mm of rain.

“With this kind of rainfall, we are expecting some flooding,” he said.

Mr Morgan said coastal areas would also be battered by strong winds.

“We have very strong onshore winds and very large waves,” he added.

“There may be some disruption to transport, including ferries and the road network.”

He added that yellow warning areas might also see some flooding.

Temperatures would be more typical for this time of year, hovering around 9C to 11C.

Turning to the weekend, Mr Morgan said the weather would be “quite clear” but with a chance of snow.

“It stays quite clear over the weekend,” he said.

“We may see the first snowflakes of autumn over high ground and in the Scottish hills and the Pennines.”

Chief Superintendent Louise Blakelock, head of road policing, said: “As an amber warning for heavy rain has been issued, we are urging motorists to plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel.

“The Met Office, Sepa and Traffic Scotland websites have valuable information about weather disruptions and we would advise people to check these sites before setting off on your journey.

“If you do need to drive, make sure you and your vehicle are suitably prepared by having sufficient fuel, waterproofs, warm clothing, food and water in the event you are delayed and be mindful of increased stopping distances when braking.”