Travel troubles as Storm Francis sweeps in across Scotland
Heavy downpours have been sweeping in as the last named storm of the season struck across Scotland.
A Met Office warning for Storm Francis is in place until 06:00 BST on Wednesday. High winds prompted the closure of the Forth and Tay Road Bridges to double decker buses while surface water affected many roads. Flooding was causing problems on a number of routes in Dumfries and Galloway. There were reports of issues on the A711 near Dumfries while the B724 at Cummertrees has been closed due to flooding. Further north a tree blocking the line was disrupting rail services between Dyce and Inverurie. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued 11 flood alerts around the country. The Met Office said that this was the first time since they started naming storms in 2015 that they had to name a storm in August and they had to name two - Ellen and Francis - in a matter of days. It meant an "unseasonably wet and windy spell" which was expected to last overnight. Road management company Bear Scotland said the forecast could affect two major road repair operations. Work to repair the damaged A68 near Fala in Midlothian reached a milestone at the weekend with the completion of the first phase of rock infill. The forecast for heavy rain meant a review of the site was undertaken and mitigation measures put in place where required to reduce the potential for further damage. Bear said critical work by utility firms to relocate services away from the damaged embankment should be completed overnight and the weather would not disrupt progress. The weather again affected complex repairs of the A83 at the Rest and be Thankful after a landslide on 4 August. Teams are expected to continue work on the construction of a wall to support the road allowing it to re-open. Bear said the Old Military Road diversion should remain open overnight but has warned that teams are on standby to close the road should the weather deteriorate. Storm Francis is expected to clear by Wednesday lunchtime. No new storm is currently forecast this month, meaning the next storm will begin with "A" rather than "G", as the storm-naming calendar resets on 1 September.