York and North Yorkshire have been battered by Storm Darragh today.
The high winds and rain have made for challenging travel conditions, brought power cuts and seen multiple events cancelled.
On the roads, North Yorkshire Police reported that the A169 was flooded at 3.45pm: “The section between Saltergate Hill and Fylingdales is flooded.
“It’s currently passable with care, but it may get worse and we’d advise drivers to check travel reports and consider alternative routes.
“We’re out and about, working hard to minimise disruption across the area.”
At 12.59pm, firefighters responded to reports of debris coming off a roof in York.
A North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson said: “A York crew responded to a report of a roof which had blown from a house and into the roadway.
“Debris was cleared from the road and the aerial ladder dispatched to make loose bricks safe.”
Soon afterwards, at 1.18pm in Haxby, Tadcaster firefighters responded to a report of a roof peeling off a bus stop.
Firefighters also had to take action to make a York hotel’s flagpole safe at 2.31pm. “The Tadcaster crew used a saw to remove a flagpole attached to a hotel which had become unsafe due to the winds,” the spokesperson said.
Trees have been reported down across the county, including in Malton, Long Marston, Amotherby, Helmsley, Scalby and Hutton-le-Hole.
In the north of the county, police said multiple roads were blocked by fallen trees or flooding around Stokesley and Great Ayton.
Police there said: “Please only travel if absolutely necessary. Please avoid at all costs.”
Video
Thousands of North Yorkshire residents have experienced power cuts today, although Northern Powergrid engineers have been able to reconnect a lot of homes this afternoon.
This video of a power line sparking was captured by Credit Tom Berridge near Brayton Barff.
There are three flood warnings in place this evening:
And 12 flood alerts, including for the Upper River Ouse and the Upper River Derwent.
In Selby, a barge broke free of its moorings, blocking the canal.
And this came in from City of York Council:
Closures and cancellations
We previously reported that York Christmas Market was closed all day today. It will reopen tomorrow (Sunday) as normal.
Homestead Park was closed today and will stay shut tomorrow, reopening on Monday.
The charity Elf Run at York Designer Outlet tomorrow has been cancelled.
The Foss Fairy Trail Christmas event this afternoon was also axed. “The fairies are preparing for the storm and will be in hiding! So sorry everyone, we were really looking forward to it,” organisers posted.
Spark:York also shut today. Clifford’s Tower will stay closed tomorrow.
The Met Office yellow weather warning for high winds remains in place till 6pm tomorrow.