Ten people have been airlifted to safety after heavy rainfall across Scotland caused flooding and landslides. Weather warnings remain in place across the region and there is widespread travel disruption. The Met Office has warned that the extreme weather could present a danger to life. HM Coastguard said one of its helicopters was used in a Police Scotland operation after a number of vehicles became stuck after landslides on the A83 and A815 in the western region of Argyll and Bute. Police said there were no reported injuries but that both roads remained closed. A number of other roads, including the M9, were hit by flooding on Saturday morning and numerous train services have been suspended. The Met Office issued a yellow rain warning covering much of Scotland with rainfall of 50-75mm forecast in low-lying areas and close to 100mm on higher ground. A separate amber warning covers central Scotland, Tayside, and Fife from 3 a.m. on Saturday to 6 a.m. on Sunday. The Met Office said this area could receive as much as 150-180mm of rainfall accumulating in the wettest spots. As of 4 pm, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) had issued 53 more localized flood warnings for areas across central and northern Scotland. Avanti West Coast advised customers between Scotland and Preston not to travel and confirmed there would be no services running north of the latter. Transpennine Express services between Manchester, Liverpool, Preston Carlisle Glasgow, and Edinburgh are also affected.

At some railway stations, including Bowling in West Dunbartonshire, the tracks were completely submerged in water. Network Rail Scotland said that, at nearby Dalmuir Twin Tunnels, its pumps had been “completely overwhelmed” and that the water on the tracks was “up to around the window level on a train”. Scotland’s national train operator, ScotRail, also announced a series of cancellations affecting services until Sunday morning. From 1 a.m. on Saturday, the West Highland line, which operates in Oban, Mallaig, and Fort William, will be suspended. The Helensburgh Central/Balloch to Dalmuir service will also stop, though services between Dalmuir and Glasgow will remain in operation. Services on the Highland main line route between Perth and Inverness will also cease. ScotRail said temporary speed restrictions have been put in place on the majority of other routes as a safety precaution. Network Rail Scotland said it would enforce speed limits in the interest of public safety. On X, formerly known as Twitter, a spokesperson said: “Yellow and Amber warnings in place in some areas due to extreme rainfall. Scotland’s transport minister, Fiona Hyslop, said: “It’s important people plan their journeys before they set off. Motorists should make sure their routes are available, follow the travel advice from Police Scotland, and drive in accordance with the conditions. “If you are planning to travel by train, ferry, or plane, please check with your operators to see if the conditions are having any impact on your services.” Scottish government resilience room officials met on Friday afternoon to gather and assess the latest updates from the Met Office, Sepa, Transport Scotland, Police Scotland and utilities ahead of the Met Office amber weather warning for rain coming into effect. Angela Constance, Scotland’s justice secretary and minister for resilience, said: “The Scottish government and partners will continue to monitor the situation closely and ministers are being kept updated.” Conditions in the south of the UK, meanwhile, are forecast to be much milder, with temperatures in south-east England expected to reach as high as 24C on Saturday and remain similarly high on Sunday. The Midlands and Wales will also be sunny.