Motorists in the north are being warned to expect localised flooding this morning with surface water and spray expected on the roads.
The Met Office yesterday issued a yellow “be aware” warning of rain for the Highlands and Argyll, valid until 6am today.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued flood alerts for Skye and Lochaber, Easter Ross and the Great Glen, Wester Ross, Caithness and Sutherland and Argyll.
Flood warnings were also issued for Strath Carron, Strath Oykel and Strathglass.
Sepa warned the heavy rain affecting the area yesterday and overnight would cause rivers and small watercourses to rise.
A spokesman said: “Due to the wet state of river catchments and melting snow there may be localised flooding to low-lying land.
“There may also be difficult driving conditions due to standing water on the road network, particularly in known trouble spots.”
A Met Office spokesman warned there was likely to be a lot of surface water and spray on the road network.
He said the heaviest rain would be in the west, where 1-2ins was expected over the 24-hour period to 6am today, with perhaps 3ins or more over some hilly areas.
More persistent rain was expected to clear the Highlands during the night and Argyll by this morning.
Looking ahead, forecasters say it could be a white Christmas in the north-east this year – but only fleetingly.
The Met Office is predicting some wintry showers in Aberdeenshire and Moray on Christmas Day, but expect most of them to fall on higher ground.
Over the next few days, temperatures will fall from yesterday’s 12C to about 7C or 8C across the region and there will be some sunny spells.
However by the end of the week, forecasters are warning of heavy wind and rain.
Met Office forecaster John Mitchell said today and tomorrow would bring a cold front moving southwards across Aberdeenshire with a “good deal” of dry weather.
He said: “There will be some sunny spells, and a few showers around in Aberdeenshire and Moray, but Aberdeen and the east coast will be staying largely dry.
“Temperatures will be down a bit, and there will be some quite breezy westerly winds along the Moray coast and higher ground.”
Christmas Eve should feature sunny spells and “fresh and strong” westerly winds, followed by good spells of sunshine and temperatures down to about 5C on Christmas Day.
