However, there is some good news. A Met Office forecaster yesterday said earlier warnings of a "severe weather event" had been revised, and bad weather was likely to be limited to frequent outbreaks of light rain in the afternoon and evening.

He said: "There probably will be some outbreaks of rain throughout the afternoon and evening, but it is now more likely to be lighter, more moderate rain."

The organisers of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) will be keeping their fingers crossed that the revised forecast holds for this evening's traditional end-of-the-Festival firework display, which is expected to be watched by around 250,000 people throughout the capital.

A spokeswoman for the EIF said organisers were confident the event would not be jeopardised by wet weather.

"It doesn't look like it will be serious, and we're confident there won't be any problems," she said.

Across the UK, August 2008 is set to be the dullest since sunshine records began in 1929. Up until last Tuesday Britain had seen just 96.3 hours of sunshine. The summer has also been one of the wettest.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government is facing Labour calls for a more "robust approach" to flood defence.

Former Environment Minister Sarah Boyack said communities and transport systems are at greater risk through the SNP administration's decision to remove "ring-fenced" funding from flood defences.

But Boyack's comments were branded "inaccurate and without foundation" by Environment Minister Michael Russell.