Dry March may lead to drought, experts warn

A DRY and sunny March could be storing up problems for Scotland's summer months ahead.

- By Paul Drury

Water watchdogs warned last month that only heavier-than-normal rainfall in spring and summer would avert the threat of drought conditions.

But March has been so dry so far, the country has seen only 25% of the rain it would normally expect.

This totals 31mm, significantly short of the 60mm which usually falls by this stage in March.

With little or no rainfall before next weekend, the month could end up one of the driest on record.

Before then, rural spots could get down to -7C or -8C this morning.

Met Office forecaster, Aiden McGivern, said: "It's going to feel relatively cold in the wind."