Two tourist attractions in the Harrogate district have announced closures and cancellations due to a yellow weather warning for wind.
The Met Office has forecast gusts of up to 50mph locally in the early hours of Thursday morning. The wind is due to strengthen tomorrow night.
Mother Shipton’s, in Knaresborough, announced today it will close as a precaution.
It issued a statement on social media:
“Given our unique location within an ancient forest, ensuring the safety of our visitors is our top priority.
“Consequently, we have made the challenging decision to temporarily close the site on Thursday due to the adverse weather conditions.”
Those with bookings to the site on Thursday have been contacted and will receive refunds, the company added.
One person commented on the statement:
“So gutted this was the only Christmas thing we had planned due to time and budget but understand safety has to come first.”
RHS Harlow Carr
RHS Garden Harlow Carr, in Harrogate, today announced it had cancelled Thursday’s Glow light show event due to the weather.
The horticultural charity said on social media:
“Unfortunately, Thursday’s Glow will be cancelled. This is to ensure the safety of all our visitors, staff and volunteers.“We are very sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment this is likely to cause, and we thank you for your understanding. All bookers for 21 December’s Glow event have been emailed today and will be given a full refund.”
The company said the gardens will be open as usual tomorrow, but added it will “keep reviewing wind speeds and may need to close the woodland and glasshouses”.
It expects tomorrow’s Glow event to go ahead.
The garden will be part-open during the day tomorrow, with the woodland and glasshouses closed.
The weather warning is in place for the north of England, Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland.
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Wind warning for Harrogate district tomorrow
The Met Office has issued a weather warning covering the Harrogate district tomorrow.
The yellow alert for wind is active from 9am to 11.45pm.
Gusts over 40 mph are expected, along with persistent morning rain. Further rain is expected over the next few days.
The Met Office map for tomorrow.
Two flood alerts and a more severe flood warning remain in place locally after yesterday’s heavy rain.
The warning is active on the River Nidd at Hunsingore. The latest Environment Agency update at 11.13am today said the old corn mill area is most at risk, adding:
“Residents are strongly urged to take action now. Remain safe and be aware of your surroundings. Monitor local water levels and weather conditions. Consider putting your flood plan into action.”
A flood alert for the Lower River Ure, updated at 9.31am today, said:
“Areas most at risk include low-lying land including agricultural land and local roads in the areas around Masham, Boroughbridge, Aldborough and Bishop Monkton.”
A flood alert covering land around the Lower River Nidd and its tributaries, including Sand Beck, Sike Beck, Pool Beck and Great Gutter was last updated at 9.03am today.
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Met Office issues another heavy rain warning for Harrogate district
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain in the Harrogate district for two days this week.
The weather alert is in place from Thursday (November 2) at 6am until Friday (November 3) at 6am.
It comes as Storm Ciarán is forecast to bring heavy rain to the UK this week.
The Met Office said the rain could cause disruption in the north of England, including flooding and delays and cancellations to public transport.
The warning comes as the district was hit by heavy rain on October 20 due to Storm Babet.
A further weather alert was issued for October 24 for heavy rain in the wake of the storm.
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Met Office issues another rain warning in Harrogate district
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain in the Harrogate district.
The warning is in place from 3am until 4pm tomorrow (October 24).
It warns the district could see heavy rain, which may lead to further flooding.
Land remains saturated in the wake of Storm Babet, which disrupted travel and closed attractions across the district.
All Storm Babet flood alerts and warnings for the district have now been removed.
An alert for the River Ure in Ripon was taken down this morning.
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RHS Harlow Carr to close tomorrow due to weather warning
RHS Harlow Carr in Harrogate has announced it will close tomorrow and its Autumn Garden Weekend has been cancelled due to Storm Babet.
The Autumn Garden event was due to take place this weekend on Saturday (October 21) and Sunday (October 22).
However, the RHS said in an email today:
“The extreme weather means it will not be possible to set up the event as planned on Friday and therefore the garden will be closed in order to ensure the safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers.”
The announcement follows a weather warning issued by the Met Office earlier this week.
It said the Harrogate district will see heavy rain from 9pm on Wednesday to 6am on Saturday.
The RHS added it will “monitor the weather” and hopes to reopen the garden as usual on Saturday.
It added:
“We are very sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment this is likely to cause, and we thank you for your understanding.”
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- Harewood Bridge closure postponed due to Storm Babet
- Met Office issues four-day rain warning for Harrogate district
Planned repairs and overnight closures of Harewood Bridge near Harrogate have been postponed due to a weather warning.
The specialist works to the grade-II listed bridge would have seen an upgrade to the surfacing on the road. A 15-mile diversion would have also been in place.
Leeds City Council was due to close the bridge overnight on Wednesday (October 18) and Thursday (October 19) between 9pm and 5.30am.
However, in an email from Connecting Leeds, people were told the plans have been delayed due to “Storm Babet and heavy rain forecast”.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council added:
“For the works to happen, conditions must be absolutely dry for the period of treatment to the road surface.
“Alternative arrangements are being looked into by the contractor about how we carry out this work with wetter and possibly unpredictable weather ahead.”
The Met Office issued a weather warning on Monday for rain in the Harrogate district from 9pm on Wednesday to 6am on Saturday.
The grade-II listed structure carries the A61 Harrogate Road over the River Wharfe and is a busy route between Harrogate and Leeds.
The plans at Harewood Bridge followed four weeks of works to the bridge over the summer holidays.
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Met Office issues four-day rain warning for Harrogate district
A weather warning covering four days has been issued for the Harrogate district as Storm Babet approaches.
The storm is forecast to bring wet and windy weather across the UK from Wednesday. Eastern Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Pennines are likely to be worst affected.
A Met Office weather warning for rain is in place in the Harrogate district from 9pm on Wednesday to 6am on Saturday.
Although gusts of over 60 mph are expected in Scotland, the Met Office isn’t currently forecasting anything higher than just above 30mph locally. But plenty of rain is due, especially on Friday.
The Met Office, which has issued a less severe yellow weather warning, said there was a “small chance” of some homes and businesses flooding and has warned of difficult driving conditions.
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Wind warning for Harrogate district as storm approaches
A weather warning has been issued from noon tomorrow until 7am on Thursday as Storm Agnes approaches.
The Met Office has forecast “a spell of strong and disruptive winds through Wednesday afternoon into early Thursday” for most of Britain.
In Harrogate, gusts of up to 44mph are predicted, with the worst of the wind expected tomorrow evening.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning, which is less severe than amber and red warnings.
It said power cuts, damage to building and travel disruption are possible.
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Met Office issues weather warning for rain in Harrogate district
The Met Office has issued a weather warning for rain across the Harrogate district this morning.
Following prolonged downpours, the Met Office said the warning was in place from 11am until 8pm today.
The warning covers most of the eastern half of northern England.
The Met Office said “a few” homes and businesses were likely to flood and bus and train services were likely to be affected.
Drivers were warned to expect spray and flooding on roads and power supplies could be interrupted.
The wet spell is expected to continue until the middle of next week, when temperatures are finally expected to rise.
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Climate change: sunshine and showers a year after record heat in Harrogate district
What a difference a year makes.
This time last year, the Harrogate district was baking in record temperatures approaching 40C.
Last year’s hot weather, which came amid warnings about the impact of extreme heat, saw several schools close for the day.
Some businesses shut their doors, while others only opened for a few hours. Bin collections started early and were called off as the heat increased.
Dog owners and parents of small children were also out and about earlier than usual, trying to avoid the peak temperatures.
Dog walkers were out early before it got too hot
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was among many around the UK to declare a major incident because of the level of demand it was facing. Harrogate and District Foundation Trust also said its services were under higher than usual pressure thanks to the weather.
However, the trust was also offering a more indulgent way for patients on its wards to keep cool – it handed out ice creams and lollies during the day.
Care homes were also ensuring elderly and vulnerable residents kept cool and hydrated. Vida Healthcare‘s chefs made jelly sweets, each containing 20ml of water, to help.
Today, however, the forecast is for top temperatures of no more than half that figure, with sunshine and showers through the day. The forecast for the coming fortnight remains similar, after heavy rain and thunder storms hit the district this month.
Heavy showers at last week’s Great Yorkshire Show
Meanwhile, Europe is experiencing an extended heatwave and hitting highs in the mid-40s every day.
The extreme weather is said to be caused by climate change, with experts predicting we will face more high temperatures in future.
Mike Kendon from the Met Office said:
“While the UK has always had periods of warm weather, what climate change does is increase the frequency and intensity of these warm weather events, increasing the likelihood of high temperature records being broken, like we saw for 2022’s annual temperature for the UK.
“It is particularly telling that of the 12 months of the year, for UK average maximum temperature the records for the warmest months include 2019 (February), 2018 (May), 2015 (December), 2012 (March), 2011 (April), 2011 (November), 2006 (July) and now 2023 (June).
“Statistics such as this clearly tell us of the changing nature of the UK’s climate and how it is particularly affecting extremes.”
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