THE Met Office has issued a new thunderstorm warning for much of Scotland this week with "sudden flooding" being possible.

The warning, which will affect parts of East Lothian including North Berwick, Tranent and Prestonpans, will occur between 10am and 7pm tomorrow.

A separate warning, in place until 11.59pm tonight, is in place impacting the rest of the county.

Met Office issues new weather warning for thunderstorms in Scotland

Introducing the new yellow weather warning for thunderstorms, the Met Office alerted residents to the following: 

  • Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
  • Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services
  • There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost
  • 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

Other places in Scotland like the Western Isles, Tayside and Fife are also affected by the warning.

What does a yellow weather warning from the Met Office mean?

There are three commonly used colours when it comes to weather warnings issued by the Met Office.

Yellow, amber and red warnings are issued with each denoting various levels of danger and impact.

Yellow weather alerts are warnings that are issued for a range of weather situations that are likely to cause some low-level impact (such as travel disruption) to a limited area.

Such weather warnings mean most people can continue with their day as normal.

Other yellow warnings are issued when extreme weather is capable of causing an impact on most but where the certainty of this is much lower.