Storm Ciarán batters Britain with 100mph winds but forecast for Harrogate is less alarming

Driving conditions may not be ideal for travel in the Harrogate district but the impact of the storm, the third named one of the season, is being felt much more strongly in the south, the Channel Islands and in coastal areas.

While winds of more than 100mph are being recorded elsewhere in the UK and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings in places, our district is currently on a yellow warning for rain.

This is expected to be the case tomorrow, too.

A red wind warning, the highest level, was issued by Jersey Met Centre for Wednesday evening into Thursday.

Heavy rain associated with Storm Ciarán could bring some disruption to northeast England and eastern Scotland.

And The Environment Agency issued two flood alerts in the wider Harrogate area – the lower River Nidd near Kirk Hammerton and the lower River Ure near Boroughbridge and Masham,

But in Harrogate itself, though the rain and wind are forecast to continue on Friday, both are relatively light in comparison to the southern part of the UK which is seeing train services disrupted, flights cancelled, power cut and hundreds of schools closed.

Northern Rail has announced delays and cancellations between Newcastle and Carlisle due to speed restrictions and delays, as well as minor disruption on the Leeds-Manchester line, but trains are currently running to timetable on the Harrogate-Leeds service.

Meanwhile, LNER has said half the trains between Edinburgh and Newcastle will be cut.

The direct rail service from Harrogate to London appears to be unaffected so far, though the 2.35pm departure has been cancelled.

On the buses, Harrogate Bus Company’s popular services to Knaresborough and Leeds are still running to timetable.