York river levels start to fall – but there’s now a weather warning for ice and possible snow

It appears that the river levels in York have now peaked.

The River Ouse in the city centre reached 4.14m at 6.15am today (Sunday, 15 January).

It had already started to drop from that high point by mid morning, and is predicted to fall sharply, reaching 2.54m by 10.30am tomorrow (Monday).

There are still five flood warnings and ten flood alerts in place for North Yorkshire.

In York, the defences have held well, and there is almost no disruption. Skeldergate was still closed at Fetter Lane today, and riverside paths are submerged.

Rowntree Park remains closed.

For those interested what Rowntree Park looks like when the river hits around 4.12m. Not fully under! Interesting to watch ‘how’ it floods. Most via the beck – surrounding area/from the ground/lakes back up. After that it creeps directly from the river… pic.twitter.com/MGKwvhVp9W

— Friends of Rowntree Park (@Fr_RowntreePark) January 14, 2023

Otherwise the city is operating normally.

The weather is now set to turn colder. Today the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for ice covering York and North Yorkshire.

It runs from 6pm tonight to 10am tomorrow and again from 6pm on Monday to 10am on Tuesday.

“Icy surfaces are expected to develop following wintry showers leading to some difficult travelling conditions,” the Met Office says.

Temperatures are set to drop to -4ºC in York and -5ºC in other parts of North Yorkshire tomorrow night.

The BBC is forecasting light snow showers tomorrow in York and parts of North Yorkshire, including Thirsk and Northallerton.