Residents in the Harrogate district are bracing themselves for heavy rain and floods as Storm Christoph heads towards northern England.

If the storm, which the Met Office has just named, combines with melting snow it could lead to major problems.

Forecasters have an amber warning in place from 6am tomorrow through to 12pm on Thursday.

Read more:

• Alert motorist averts double road closure travel chaos
• Flood alerts issued as heavy rain forecast for Harrogate district

The amber warning currently covers the south of Harrogate as well as Nidderdale and Pateley Bridge.

A yellow warning (which is less severe than amber) for rain is also in place for the rest of the Harrogate district, including Ripon, Masham and Knaresborough.

Both include warnings of flooded homes and roads, leading to some communities being cut off as well as a “danger to life” warning.

Chief meteorologist Dan Suri said:

“Following a cold spell where the main hazard was snow, our focus now turns to notably heavy rain moving across the UK this week.

“Some locations could see over 100mm of rain falling through the course just a couple of days with up to 200mm possible over higher ground.

“These amounts of rainfall along with snow melt present a real threat of flooding and people should keep a close eye on flood warnings.”