BEAR Scotland teams are on standby for heavy rain across much of Scotland this weekend as heavy rain and high winds brought in by Storm Alex are set to impact the country.

The Met Office has issued an Amber warning for heavy rain across parts of the north east of Scotland from 6pm on Saturday to 6am on Sunday morning.  A Yellow warning is in force across the eastern area of the country as well as the northern coasts from 3am tomorrow morning until 12 noon on Sunday.  As much as 60mm rain is expected to fall in parts of the north east with localised gusts of between 40 and 50mph forecast as a result of the storm over the weekend.

The decision has been taken to close the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful and redirect traffic to the Old Military Road (OMR) from mid-afternoon on Saturday, with teams expecting to reopen the A83 on Sunday afternoon once the rain passes. This follows the recent landslips in the area and concerns from geotechnical engineers about the impact of such heavy rain on the scarred hillside. The timing of the use of the OMR, a single lane road which runs parallel to the A83 through Glen Croe, will depend on actual weather experienced on site and will be kept to a minimum as much as possible.