THE Met Office has issued another Yellow weather warning for the Borders until Saturday, February 22.

After a week of storms and flooding, the Borders can expect conditions to remain the same as heavy rain and high winds are expected for the rest of this week.

From Wednesday, February 19 until Friday, heavy rainfall is expected in the region, covering Peebles, Jedburgh and Melrose. Up to 40mm of rain is predicted to fall on higher areas, and with the ground still being saturated after Storm Dennis, local flooding is likely. SEPA also have a flood alert in place for the Borders.

On Friday and Saturday, a Yellow warning for strong winds has been given, which the Met Office says will reach top speeds of 75mph which could cause travel disruption, particularly to high-sided vehicles using routes like the A1 through Eyemouth.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "Rain is expected to become persistent and occasionally heavy across parts of southern Scotland during Wednesday afternoon. The rain will slowly clear from the northwest on Thursday morning.

"Strong and gusty west to southwesterly winds are expected across northeast England and parts of southeast Scotland during Friday with gusts of 55-65 mph in places.

"Strong, gusty winds are expected across Scotland during Saturday. The strongest winds will likely occur in the vicinity of heavy, squally showers. 

"Whilst not all areas will see the strongest winds, gusts of 55-65 mph are expected in places. Exposed parts of northern and western Scotland may see gusts of 65-75 mph. 

"Showers will fall as a mixture of rain, hail and sleet with snow accumulations expected to be restricted to higher ground (above 200 to 300 m). Winds will gradually moderate during Saturday evening."

Areas of the Borders were devastated by flooding after heavy rainfall from storms Ciara and Dennis last week, which saw local rivers reach their highest levels on record.

One of the worst affected areas was Newcastleton, where up to 80 homes were flooded last weekend.

And prior to Storm Dennis, Storm Ciara caused widespread flooding around Peeblesshire, including the rugby pitch at Walkerburn RFC which became waterlogged.

An advice and support hub has been set up for residents in Newcastleton, in the No.8 Youth Club where residents can speak to an advisor about crisis grants, housing and council tax.

In response to this new weather warning, SBC chief executive, Tracey Logan, told us: “Understandably communities are on high alert following the flooding experienced at the weekend. However, the advice we are receiving from the experts at the Met Office and SEPA is that the rainfall should not result in any widespread flooding, based on the current forecasts.

“The warnings are for low impacts, and people will certainly see an increase in river levels over the next few days. Potentially there may be some surface water and localised flooding of fields and roads in well-known areas. Based on the forecast we do not anticipate that rivers will rise as fast or to the high levels experienced last week.

“There is no room for complacency however, and we will continue to liaise closely with our partners throughout the coming days. I would urge residents, particularly in Hawick, Newcastleton, Jedburgh and the Ettrick Valley areas, which are unfortunately likely to get the worst of the rain, to be alert for any flood warnings if they require to be issued and take the necessary precautions.”

SBC support staff can also be contacted during office hours on 0300 100 1800 or for out of hours, contact 01896 752111.