Edinburgh bypass traffic: Huge tailbacks as heavy rain sparks rush hour chaos

Edinburgh City Bypass faced travel disruption on Friday as heavy rain battered the capital as rush hour approached.

Edinburgh Travel News warned motorists of delays as huge tailbacks were pictured on the bypass at around 3pm. Heavy flooding has caused havoc across Edinburgh with traffic coming to a standstill.

The capital and surrounding areas have been drenched with heavy, thunderous rain on Friday afternoon. Pictures provided by Traffic Scotland show traffic building as motorists battled the wet conditions.

Read More: Fed-up Edinburgh locals say 'ghost vehicles abandoned on street' outside homes

Read More: Edinburgh knifeman stabbed victim with blade after missing with a hammer

One picture taken at Calder Drive show cars forcing their way through huge flooding conditions with one resident describing the scenes as "incredibly deep" as rush hour approached on Friday afternoon.

It's understood buses were delayed on approach to Calder Drive as the heavy rain caused havoc for motorists making their way home from work.

Edinburgh Travel News warned City Bypass drivers of delays and said: "City Bypass (W) - around 40mins drive time from Sheriffhall to Dreghorn."

Edinburgh Live previously reported that huge puddles of water surrounded shops on Princes Street including the Royal House of Scotland. Bus stops were also surrounded with water as many pedestrians made their way along the street with their umbrellas.

It's also understood that many shoppers were stopped from entering stores including Sainsburys in Gorgie. One customer told that shoppers were stopped from entering the supermarket due to flooding on the shop floor.

She said: "It wasn't officially closed as people were still inside when I was leaving but security weren't allowing people to enter and were telling them it was closed due to flooding.

"One security guard said it might only be for 30 minutes so not sure how long for. The big floor cleaning machines were coming out as I was leaving."

Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages

The Met Office forecast for Edinburgh on Friday predicated wet conditions. The forecast reads: "A few showers at first, possibly heavy in places. These soon dying out through the evening. Clearer spells developing for many places, but cloudier towards the south. Minimum temperature 6 °C."

Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox

It's also predicted that rain showers will continue on Saturday with the forecast reading: "Dry with some brightness first thing, but clouding over through the morning. Showers or longer spells of rain arriving through the afternoon, these heavy at times. Maximum temperature 16 °C."

You can read the full forecast here.