Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that he will chair a meeting of the UK COBRA emergency committee in response to Storm Christoph.
The top level meeting involves a cross-departmental committee that comes together to respond to national emergencies and make quick decisions on how to navigate a crisis.
This morning Edinburgh woke up to a sheet of snow and the city is still under a yellow weather warning for snow and ice. Part of Midlothian and the Scottish Borders have now been upgraded to an amber warning.
Storm Christoph is to batter the capital with rain, sleet and snow from around 4pm onwards and the Met Office have warned that parts of Scotland could see a huge 30cm of snow.
Chief Meteorologist Neil Armstrong, said “Storm Christoph will bring a mix of notable weather hazards across the UK over the next few days.
'Some locations in central Northern England and Wales could see a month’s rain fall in just a couple of days, with up to 200mm possible over higher ground. These amounts of rainfall present a real threat of flooding and people should keep a close eye on flood warnings from the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and SEPA.
“As the system moves away into the North Sea on Wednesday night and Thursday morning we start to see the potential for hazardous snow as cold air is pulled across the UK from the north west.
"Notable accumulations of snow, up to 30cm in places, are possible in parts of Scotland. With the cold air in place across the whole of the UK temperatures will drop as we move into the weekend with a return to overnight frosts for many.”
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SEPA have also issued a flooding warning in Edinburgh and the Lothians, warning the public to "remain vigilant."
The SEPA warning reads: "An updated FLOOD ALERT has been issued for Edinburgh and Lothians.
"Persistent rainfall is expected to continue throughout Wednesday and overnight into Thursday.
"Snow is expected to fall over higher ground, however, flooding of low-lying land and roads is possible from small rivers and surface water, particularly in known trouble spots. There could also be disruption to travel."
