A flood warning was issued for the north of Scotland this morning as rain continued to pour on plans for a sunny bank holiday.
An amber flood alert was issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) for Findhorn, Speyside, Nairn, Caithness and Sutherland for last night and this morning.
Residents close to flood-prone areas were urged to be prepared.
However, clearer skies are forecast for this afternoon, with sunshine predicted to return on Tuesday for many areas.
Craig Snell, a weather forecaster at the Met Office, said: “Although Monday morning will be much the same as the weekend in many areas, towards the afternoon it’s looking to become much brighter.
“As the day progresses, it will be much warmer in places such as the coastlines of the North Sea, and in the afternoon conditions will improve further, especially towards Moray and the Highlands where sunshine is expected.
“Some parts of those regions could see temperatures of around 12C to 13C, but it will still feel cool in places due to higher winds, but not as cold as it was during the weekend.
“On Tuesday, we’re looking again at much better weather than we had at the weekend and there should be a lot of sunshine in the morning.
“But there is a band of rain forecast that should be travelling south across the country during the day, and that should hit Elgin and Inverness at around lunchtime, before passing over Aberdeen and the surrounding area in the afternoon.
“After that though, sunshine is expected throughout much of the north of Scotland in the afternoon.”
But it is too late for the organisers of several events intended to get people in the summery mood, with many cancelled over the weekend.
Wet weather forced a golf tournament to be cancelled in Fort William yesterday, and pipe band parade was called off in Dornoch on Saturday evening.
And in Moray, around 100 cyclists who were planning to take part in a fundraising ride had to leave their bikes at home.
The 62-mile ride for Abbie’s Sparkle Foundation was axed after the roads were deemed unsafe for cycling.
Meanwhile, the Inchberry Hall car boot sale near Fochabers, which is popular with buyers and traders from across the north-east, was also cancelled – though organisers made the decision before the weekend having looked at the forecast.
Portsoy Coastal Rowing Club’s planned open day yesterday was also called off.
The event, at the town’s new harbour, will now be held on Sunday instead.
However, not everybody’s parade was rained on – the Crathes Vintage Car and Motorbike Rally and Grampian Pride went ahead as planned.
And yesterday, hardy walkers donned their waterproofs for the See Me Walk A Mile event at Aberdeen Beach to raise awareness of mental health issues.
Dozens of participants from all kinds of backgrounds walked from the leisure centre to Footdee, discussing mental health in order to break down stigmas.
