THE Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain and flooding for parts of Scotland this week.

The alert will be in place between the hours of 3am and 8pm on Tuesday, September 10, affecting the Northern Isles.

Discussing the forecast in more detail, the meteorological organisation said: "An area of heavy rain will become slow-moving over the Northern Isles on Monday night and through Tuesday morning, before clearing from Orkney in the afternoon and eventually from Shetland during the evening.

"Totals of 20-40 mm seem likely to fall quite widely, mostly within a six to 12-hour period, with perhaps as much as 50-80 mm in a few locations on Shetland.

"Strong winds accompanying the rain may also add to the difficult travelling conditions."

What to expect as the Met Office issues yellow weather warning for heavy rain and flooding

The Met Office has warned that "flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible" across Scotland's Northern Isles and that "spray and flooding on roads" could make journey times longer.

What is a Met Office yellow weather warning?

These warnings are issued for a range of weather situations that are likely to cause some low-level impact (such as travel disruption) to a limited area.

Such weather warnings mean most people can continue with their day as normal.

Other yellow warnings are issued when extreme weather is capable of causing an impact on most but where the certainty of this is much lower.