Northern Powergrid has said it aims to restore electricity by 4pm today after a widespread power outage in the Harrogate district.

The company, which manages the electricity network, reported cuts in Harrogate and in many rural areas to the west in Nidderdale this morning. The number of homes affected in total is not known.

The Curious Cow of Harrogate pub, on the edge of Killinghall, posted on social media that it was unable to serve lunches today due to the situation.

Northern Powergrid’s live power cuts map indicated properties were affected in Harrogate and nearby villages, including Birstwith, Menwith Hill, Kettlesing and Darley.

The message accompanying notifications said:

“We’ve had to switch off the power for safety purposes whilst our engineers work on the cables and equipment that serves your area. We appreciate your patience and understanding.”

#Powercut in #HG3 affecting 15 customers. #TeamPowergrid are working hard to restore power and estimate to have all customers restored by 4pm. Report your power cut online to be kept updated at https://t.co/q94zD0HFnk. pic.twitter.com/Yc8OhkJf3N

— Northern Powergrid (@Northpowergrid) March 15, 2023

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Storm Otto hit the Harrogate district with a vengeance this morning.

The Stray Ferret provided live coverage as tree after tree fell, causing widespread travel disruption and damaging cars. Thousands of homes also lost power.

Here’s a look back at what happened.

2.21pm Power slowly being restored

Northern Powergrid is reporting a far lower number of homes are without power across the Harrogate district this afternoon.

It says power has been restored to many in Nidderdale and areas around Ripon, though engineers are still working to reconnect several dozen homes in the area.

The National Trust said Fountains Abbey will remain closed this afternoon as it is still without power.

❗️UPDATE❗️ Friday 17 Feb 2023: Due to the high winds, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal is without power and will remain closed today.

— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) February 17, 2023

Several hundred homes around Goldsborough, Spofforth and Follifoot are still cut off this afternoon, with expected reconnection times varying between 7.30pm and 1.15am.

2.14pm RHS Harlow Carr reopens

With the weather warning now lifted, conditions have improved significantly across the Harrogate district.

After a delayed opening, and then parts of the gardens remaining closed, RHS Harlow Carr confirmed it has now fully reopened.

https://twitter.com/RHSHarlowCarr/status/1626576626376138752

2.09pm Fallen trees at Ripon Rugby Club

David Uffindall has sent us photographs of three large trees that have fallen around the pitch at Ripon Rugby Club.

One in the first picture even appears to be scoring an impressive try between the posts.

The second team is due to play at the Mallorie Park ground tomorrow afternoon, against Harrogate Pythons.

The club members have already been out to begin the clear-up operation now the winds have died down.

The extent of the storm damage this morning. Big thanks to the team that is tackling the clear up operation at the moment. pic.twitter.com/IwI7bGfeiH

— Ripon Rugby Club (@RiponRugby) February 17, 2023

12.58pm: Police alerted to 20 fallen trees in two hours in Harrogate district

Harrogate police station

North Yorkshire Police has it has been “inundated” with storm-related 999 calls this morning — especially from the Harrogate district.

It said in a press release that the force control room dealt with three times the usual volume of calls between 7am and 10am.

It received 80 emergency calls and 136 non-emergency calls between between those hours today compared with 22 and 51 yesterday.

Many were notifying them of fallen trees. The release added:

“The Harrogate district was one of the worse affected areas with over 20 reports of fallen trees in two hours. Officers in Harrogate didn’t have to travel far before they found a fallen tree as one even came down in the police station car park.

“A private car was damaged, but thankfully no one was injured.”

Officers have also dealt with five incidents involving heavy good vehicles on the A1(M). Three HGVs overturned, one lost its roof and one shed its load.

An overturned vehicle on the A1

12.01pm Some attractions ready to open this afternoon

Now the weather has taken a turn for the better, tourist attractions are beginning to open their doors.

RHS Harlow Carr, which had remained closed this morning because of the high winds, says its gates will be opened to the public from 1pm, though some areas will remain closed.

⚠️ Garden opening update – Friday 17th February ⚠️

The garden will reopen at 1pm today, apart from the Woodland, Alpine House and Play Area. pic.twitter.com/tYD8sGboek

— RHS Harlow Carr (@RHSHarlowCarr) February 17, 2023

However, other attractions have said they will not be reopening just yet.

Fountains Abbey is affected by an extensive power cut across Ripon and the surrounding area, while Birchfield Farm in Nidderdale is also without power.

The latter had made the decision to stay closed today but intends to be open as usual over the weekend, assuming power has been restored.

11.28pm Another fallen tree

A tree is blocking Wood View in the Duchy area of Harrogate.

It has fallen from the garden belonging to a house that was visited by Liz Truss last summer, as part of her successful campaign to be elected as leader of the Conservative party.

11.15am Bins in the wind

With recycling collections due in some areas today, there is plenty of debris blowing around.

Expect to see rogue black recycling bins skidding across the road and blue recycling bags caught in trees and hedges when you’re out and about.

One resident has had a bit of trouble with her wheelie bin too…

https://twitter.com/G_Stockdale/status/1626536380372246533

11.10am Extensive power cuts across Harrogate district

Northern Powergrid’s live map shows extensive problems across the Harrogate district.

Much of Nidderdale is experiencing a power outage, with one area showing 170 homes are currently without power between Darley and Lofthouse, and another showing 140 have been cut off around the Hampsthwaite area.

Ripon and surrounding villages are also experiencing disruption, with 1,050 homes affected. Separate problems are affecting 410 properties around Copt Hewick and 940 homes to the north of Ripon.

Around Spofforth, Follifoot and nearby villages, there are further power cuts to 240 properties.

The estimated times for restoring power are between 7pm and 9pm, with Northern Powergrid saying it is dealing with extensive problems this morning.

Is your home or business affected by the power outage? Get in touch to let us know how you’re managing.

10.54am Power cut at Fountains Abbey

Because of a power cut in the area, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal will remain closed for now.

17 Feb 2023: Due to the high winds, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal is without power and is currently closed to the public. We're assessing whether we can open the property today. Please check back for updates.

— Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, National Trust (@fountainsabbey) February 17, 2023

The National Trust said yesterday it planned to open around noon once the high winds had subsided, but that won’t be possible until power is restored.

Northern Powergrid is dealing with an unplanned power cut to just over 1,000 properties in the area and its current estimated time for reconnection is 7pm.

10.34am Rail disruption continues

There are likely to be service disruptions on the York-Harrogate-Leeds line for some time this morning.

This video from LNER shows some tarpaulin caught in overhead power lines at Leeds station.

The route out of Leeds is currently closed and passengers are advised they can use tickets to board alternative services.

However, there are also reports of a fallen tree on the tracks between Harrogate and Knaresborough, causing disruption to the timetable.

10.26am Changes to bus services

There is disruption to bus services around the Harrogate district because of the weather.

As well as the 8 and the 3 services being unable to serve stops on parts of their routes because of fallen trees, the 1 services to Knaresborough have had changes made to their departures from Harrogate bus station.

https://twitter.com/harrogatebus/status/1626527369547612160

10.17am: Knaresborough firefighters make sign safe

Knaresborough Fire Station has posted the following on its Facebook page.

“This morning, Knaresborough Fire Crew were called out to a sign hanging perilously over a public area on the High Street due to the high winds. Crews made the structure safe

“Take care if you are travelling this morning – there are a lot of fallen trees across roads in our area.”

10.10am: The sunken Porsche 

We’ve been speaking to Zenya Dunn, seen here standing next to her partner Michael’s Porsche 911 on Granby Road in Harrogate. Look our for more on this story soon.

10am: Tree down on Ripon Road in Harrogate

The main northbound route out of Harrogate is blocked by a tree,

9.48am: Severe travel problems on Leeds Road due to tree

A fallen tree is blocking almost all of Leeds Road near M&S. The road is only passable southbound, so cars travelling northbound are having to wait for a gap in the traffic to get through. Larger vehicles like the 36 bus are having to go onto the pavement to get past.

It has fallen from a neighbouring garden right across the carriageway. Traffic is queuing in both directions and surrounding roads as people look for alternative routes.

9.41am: Delays on Leeds Road into Harrogate

Traffic has generally been lighter this week due to half-term. But there is currently very heavy traffic coming into Harrogate on Leeds Road. We have been told a tree is down near the M&S foodhall.

9.37am: Tree blocking popular Valley Gardens walking route

Tree down on the path from valley gardens to Harlow carr just over the road. Can walk round but if you are coming this way with a wheelchair or pushchair maybe consider going up Otley road #harrogate pic.twitter.com/W1ReEpDowY

— Robbie Duncan (@robbie_duncan) February 17, 2023

9.34am: Cherry tree down on the Stray

Thanks to Ann Leathley for alerting us to this fallen cherry tree on the Stray.

https://twitter.com/HarrogateAnn/status/1626512854412103680

9.31am: Tree problems on main road near Pannal

A fallen tree is blocking the lane approaching Harrogate on the A61 near Pannal, just past the Costa drive-through. The road is wide enough at that point for vehicles to pass without much difficulty.

9.26am: Tree down near Harrogate Borough Council offices

Thanks to Hayley Jayne for sending us this photo of a tree down on the junction of King’s Road and Springfield Avenue, near the council headquarters. Please let us know how the storm is affecting you by emailing contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

9.20am: Tree crashes through roof of car in Harrogate

We have been sent a photo of a tree that has fallen into the roof of a car on Granby Road in Harrogate.

9.16am: A1 partially reopens at junction 51

#A1M in #NorthYorkshire has re-opened north between J51 #Leeming & J52 #Catterick following an overturned heavy goods vehicle.

Lane 2 & 3 (of 3) remains closed. Lane 1 is open past the scene.

Please take extra care when travelling today due to very strong winds in the area. pic.twitter.com/SQuhfyY4p7

— National Highways: Yorkshire (@HighwaysYORKS) February 17, 2023

9.11am: Leeds Road disruption cleared

A tree down on Leeds Road near the junction with Stone Rings Lane was partially blocking the road this morning but it has now been moved.

9.10am: RHS closes Harlow Carr

⚠️ Garden closed this morning – 17th Feb ⚠️

Unfortunately due to a yellow weather warning of very strong winds, the garden will be closed this morning. This is to ensure the safety of all our visitors, staff and volunteers. We will review at midday and may open this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/JBVEGiaksk

— RHS Harlow Carr (@RHSHarlowCarr) February 17, 2023

9.07am: Tree down in Burn Bridge

A tree is down on Foot Lane out the back of Burn Bridge. The large pine tree is partially blocking the road

9.01am: Tree down at Wormald Green

Thanks to a reader for notifying us of a tree down on Station Lane in Wormald Green. They said:

“Tree gone in the wind, finding it impossible to contact anyone to remove it. Harrogate refers to North Yorkshire, out of hours here refers to 101. 101 on hold.”

8.58am: Tree down on Pannal Ash Road in Harrogate

There is a fallen tree near the junction with Pannal Ash Drive. It’s not blocking the road but part of it is sticking out so cars are having to pull out to go around it. Again, would be causing a lot more problems on a school day! Looks like someone has already been out and chopped it a bit.

8.46am: Harrogate picture frame still intact despite fallen tree

Our reporter has been on the Stray to see the impact of the fallen tree on the picture frame where tourists pose for pictures and it appears to have withstood the impact of a fallen tree,

8.42am: Tree down on the Stray

8.37am: Tree down on Green Lane in Harrogate

A tree has fallen on Green Lane, close to the junction with Ashville Grove and is blocking a driveway, though the road is largely clear. Fortunately as it’s half-term so Green Lane doesn’t have the usual volume of traffic.

8.31am: Tree down on Bilton viaduct

This has been posted on the Bilton Community Group Facebook page showing a fallen tree on the bridge where Paddington 2 was filmed.

8.22am: Tree overhanging the A61 Ripon Road

Reports of a. overhanging tree on the Ripon Road between Ripley and Ripon.

8.15am: Tree down in Pinewoods

https://twitter.com/PinewoodsHgt/status/1626493951740977152

8.13am: A1 northbound closed at junction 49

The second report of an overturned HGV on the A1 this morning.

https://twitter.com/HighwaysYORKS/status/1626494665510854657

8.09am: Harrogate picture frame takes a hit

The Harrogate picture frame on the Stray, where tourists pose for photos, has taken a hit from a tree.

8.05am: Power cuts hit Harrogate — homes could be off until 7.30pm

#Powercut is affecting HG3 1 & HG5 8 postcode area.

We are expecting the supply to be restored by 7:30 pm.

Report your power cut online to be kept updated – https://t.co/wpHlPZBeOy pic.twitter.com/nGkYa75sgn

— Northern Powergrid (@Northpowergrid) February 17, 2023

8.02am: Bus services in Jennyfields affected

https://twitter.com/harrogatebus/status/1626491876265140225

7.49am: Train lines between Harrogate and Knaresborough down

https://twitter.com/northernassist/status/1626488179871166466

7.41am: Tree down in Knaresborough

Reports of a tree down on the road on the hill down to Mother Shipton’s pub in Knaresborough coming down from Calcutt, cleared much as we could

7.33am: Lorry overturned on AI

National Highways says a lorry has overturned just south of Leeming Bar at junction 51. It isn’t clear if it is due to the wind but it is adding to the morning problems.

Lane 1 (of 3) is closed on the #A1(M) in #NorthYorkshire southbound within J51 #Leeming due to an overturned heavy goods vehicle. @NYorksPolice are in attendance.

Please take care on approach, thank you for your patience. pic.twitter.com/BFAvoZ1cEV

— National Highways: Yorkshire (@HighwaysYORKS) February 17, 2023

7.15am: Power cut in Ripon

About 1,300 homes in the HG4 postcode area have suffered power cuts as Storm Otto hits the area.

Northern Powergrid has said it doesn’t expect services to be restored until 7pm tonight.

HG4 covers Ripon and surrounding villages.

#Powercut is affecting HG4 postcode area.

We are expecting the supply to be restored by 7 pm.

Report your power cut online to be kept updated – https://t.co/SDLE6r1xel pic.twitter.com/BeOKP7dqc8

— Northern Powergrid (@Northpowergrid) February 17, 2023

A yellow weather warning is in place for the Harrogate district until 2pm today.

According to the Met Office, winds are due to peak at about 9am at around 65mph.

A power outage hit 4,246 households and forced shops to close in Harrogate this morning.

The outage affected homes around Otley Road and Leeds Road, as well as businesses in the Oatlands and Harlow Hill areas.

While Northern Powergrid said it only lasted for 10 minutes, customers reported problems for around half an hour from 10am onwards.

Both M&S Food and the Co-op in the Oatlands area had to ask customers to leave when their lights, fridges and automatic doors stopped working. Other shops in the area also closed during the outage.

Traffic lights and pedestrian crossings were also reported to have been affected by the power cut.

A spokesperson for Northern Powergrid said:

“Everything is completely back on now. We don’t know what caused it, but we have transferred customers onto a healthier part of the network and our engineers are investigating.”

Read more:

• Fallen power lines cause overnight fire in Knaresborough
• More crossings needed in Oatlands area, says Harrogate councillor

Northern Powergrid has reported that about 140 homes are without power this morning in the HG3 postcode area.

Homes near Darley and Stainburn appear to be the worst affected.

The electricity provider said it was “working hard to restore power” to 130 homes near Darley but is currently unaware of how long residents will be without power.

Near Stainburn Forest, there are fewer than 10 homes affected, according to the Northern Powergrid live power cut map, and again the company was unable to say when power would be restored.

The map also indicates some homes may have been without power since Saturday, with the first reports coming in Saturday morning.

Over the weekend the district was hit with high winds following Storm Malik. It caused multiple trees to fall and block roads as well as power cuts in areas such as Hampsthwaite and the Bubblerun Hand Car Wash had to close due to a collapsed roof. It has now reopened.

Damage to the roof of Bubblerun car wash, Harrogate Road. Picture: Sarah Tayan.

The Met Office has removed its yellow weather warning for the district but Storm Corrie is still expected to bring winds of around 30mph throughout the morning.

Read more:

• Harrogate district braced for Storm Corrie
• Harrogate landscaping boss tells of lucky escape from falling tree

Northern Powergrid said on its website:

“We are still responding to the extensive damage caused by Storm Malik. There is a lot to do and the work involved is often not fully known until our teams get on site. So, we regret that in some cases we cannot yet give precise estimates of when power will be restored because the work involved in one job has a knock on effect on the timing of others.

“We are still working to get your power back on at some point today, but there is a possibility that it runs beyond Monday night.”

Is your home without power? let us know by emailing contact@thestrayferret.co.uk

A power cut on Beulah Street in Harrogate this morning has forced several businesses to close.

It is not known if the outage is related to Storm Arwen, which is still affecting electricity supply in the district.

Costa Coffee, British Red Cross, Aplifon Hearing Centre are all closed. At CEX the lights are not working but the tills and card reader are so they can still serve customers who must wait outside.

Power went off at about 8.30am and was still off at the time of publication. It is expected to return later today.

James Buckley, supervisor at CEX, said there are several different power lines on Beulah Street, so businesses on the other side of the road are open as normal.

He said:

“We are in darkness. It’s a health and safety issue, but we can still sell stuff but not let customers into the store.”

Connie Lancaster, assistant manager at the British Red Cross, decided to close completely until the power comes back on. She has been unable to get more information from Northern Powergrid due to telephone wait times of almost two hours.

She said:

“We’ve been very unlucky”.

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Many homes in the district are still without power following Friday night’s storm, according to a live map by Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity distribution network across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

One reader, who asked not to be named, said the rural area of Skelding, half a mile away from Grantley village, told us last night:

“We feel forgotten about. We were given a tiny bit of power on Saturday night at 7pm so 21 hours of nothing. However this wasn’t enough for most lights, boilers, washer or ovens. Then this afternoon came the good news that Grantley village and school are back on full power however the farms and houses in Skelding are now without anything

Another reader from Grantley said her family had booked into a hotel when temperatures in their house plunged to six degrees centigrade.

A Beckwithshaw family has booked into Rudding Park hotel to escape its freezing home after two days without power.

Sylvia Skipper’s home was among thousands in the district to lose electricity when Storm Arwen struck late on Friday.

Power has returned to most but about 800 properties in the Harrogate district are still affected, according to a live map by Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity distribution network across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

Ms Skipper, who lives on Shaw Lane, said her family had been without power since 9.20pm on Friday. There has been no hot water or heating, despite the freezing conditions, and they have been unable to cook. She said:

“Our house yesterday afternoon was minus one degrees.

“We couldn’t take any more and are now staying at Rudding Park. We have no idea whether power will be restored today.

“This is inhumane. We have lost faith as we have been forgotten about.”

Northern Powergrid’s live map shows 660 homes are without power in the Summerbridge and Bishop Thornton area, along with 60 in Spofforth, 30 in North Stainley, 20 in Pannal, 20 in High Birstwith, 20 in Kirkby Malzeard, fewer than 10 in Knaresborough, fewer than 10 in Greenhow Hill.

Ms Skipper said:

“The communication from Northern Powergrid has been dreadful.

“Until this afternoon we didn’t even have a phone signal on top of this so we had to venture in the car so that we could communicate with Northern Powergrid.

“I have seen their Twitter updates about providing hot drinks and support to numerous areas in the North East yet there has been absolutely nothing for us or our neighbours.”

Read more:

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Steve Crisp, whose home between Beckwithshaw and Leathley is also without power, said:

“I keep trying to access Northern Powergrid but the website is unreliable and this morning when I rang and confirmed I would like to wait to speak to someone the system just cut me off.

“Patience and Dunkirk spirit being stretched!”

He and his wife were luckier than some because they had a log burner, which provided heat and a means to cook beans on toast.

‘One of worst storms for 20 years’

Northern Powergrid’s latest update at 11pm last night said it had restored power to around 208,000 of the 240,000 customers. About 100 engineers from other power companies had been drafted in to help. It added:

“The scale of damage in some locations is so extensive that in some cases, large sections of overhead lines will need to be rebuilt in order to restore supplies.

“Where it can, Northern Powergrid is deploying temporary fixes that get customers back on supply whilst its teams coordinate the necessary permanent repairs to get the region’s power network back to full strength.

Rod Gardner, Northern Powergrid’s major incident manager, added:

“The impact from Storm Arwen has been one of the worst we’ve experienced in the last 20 years.”

More than 500 homes suffered a power cut this morning when a partially fallen tree rested on overhead power cables in the Harrogate district.

A total of 568 homes in Birstwith and Hampsthwaite were affected by the incident, which was reported at 10.41am this morning.

Power was restored after about an hour.

A spokeswoman for electricity company Northern Powergrid told the Stray Ferret:

“The tree meant the cable was quite low and we needed to switch off power while we dealt with it.”

She added the company had switched the supply while the tree was made safe and power was back on in all the homes affected by 11.33am.

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A street in central Harrogate has spent the past three working days in darkness after the power company failed to fix a fault.

Businesses on Victoria Avenue said that the constant power cuts have been very disruptive.

Northern Powergrid has been trying the fix the issue since Friday. However, businesses report that, each day, the power goes off for several hours and offices have had to close as a result.

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Many on the street are offices, but there are also opticians and dental practices which have had to cancel some appointments.

Andrew Gray, the director of Truth Legal and a landlord on the street, told the Stray Ferret that all of his tenants have gone home:

“It has been massively disruptive. I have a team of lawyers, together with five sets of tenants in this building, and they are all trying to work from home. With coronavirus some businesses are already prepared to switch to home working but there are some office staff who don’t have laptops.”

David Simister, one of the directors at Different PR, also told the Stray Ferret:

“There haven’t been this many power cuts since the Winter of Discontent. It is a nightmare to deal with but I have been able to work from home as a result. Following on from coronavirus this has been the last thing many businesses on this street need.”

Northern Powergrid’s live power map shows that 40 properties have been affected. A spokesperson said:

“We have had engineers out again today. They dug up the road to get access to the faulty cables. It will only be a temporary fix but it should stop the power going out on an intermittent basis.”

A power cut in Harrogate this morning led to 6,603 homes losing electricity.

The power cut affected homes in the HG3 postcode, which includes Beckwithshaw, Killinghall and Pannal.

Northern Powergrid said power returned at 9.30am this morning.

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