Property investors in Scotland have been turning to their landlord insurance policies in their droves this week as freak weather conditions have brought back memories of last year’s awful winter. Claims for wind damage and flooding are normal in Scotland at this time of year but insurers say the last few days has seen a significant increase in emergency calls as the weather takes a turn for the worse.
Landlords in Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Central Scotland have seen their properties damaged by localised flooding, while snow and high winds have caused problems for landlords in the Highland and Western Isles. Unfortunately the weather conditions are not forecast to improve over the next few days, and in fact the stormy conditions will put many holiday homes and second homes on flood alert in all of the coastal regions.
Forecasters from the Met Office are predicting the whole of Scotland may suffer from a rare weather phenomenon this week called “Thundersnow”. The freak conditions required for thundersnow do not manifest themselves very often but high winds, thunder and lightning, and heavy snow, all at the same time is exactly what meteorologists are expecting to hit Scotland later this week.
Although injuries to the public have only been on a small scale so far the Thundersnow could cause real problems and Transport Minister Keith Brown said pedestrians and motorists should only go out if their journey is unavoidable and urged community minded people to keep an eye on vulnerable neighbours. He went on to say: “I would urge the public to stay vigilant and tuned to local radio reports and the Traffic Scotland website.”