Storm Darragh: flooding, roads closed and trees down as storm batters Whitby and Esk Valley

Winds in excess of 63mph and heavy rainfalls caused chaos as the River Esk burst its banks at several points, with flooding at Lealholm, Castleton, Egton and along the Carrs between Ruswarp and Briggswath.

At one point late on Saturday night, the River Esk at Ruswarp was just 25cm off its highest ever recorded height back in June 1999, according to information provided by North Yorkshire Weather Updates.

Police and the fire service received a call about a vehicle trapped in water at Danby on Saturday afternoon, although the people inside managed to escape the vehicle unharmed.

North Yorkshire Council received “hundreds of reports” of trees down and flooded roads overnight and were working through those as quickly as possible as they issued a list of road closures.

The authority advised motorists not to drive through flood water or move road closure signs, with flooding affecting the A169 at Saltersgate/Fylingdales.

North Yorkshire Police experiencing “a very high number of calls” due to the weather over the weekend and had taken at least 160 reports of highway disruption and flooding on Saturday alone.

They said they had been dealing with around 15 to 20 reports of fallen trees and blocked roads.

A total of 26mm of rain fell in Whitby from Thursday December 5 to Saturday December 7, according to data from the weather station at Whitby School.

In Whitby, a tree came down at Pannett Park and blocked the footpath at Bagdale while wooden buildings were badly damaged on the seafront at The Battery as huge waves lashed the town’s piers at the height of the storm.

The Homestead Kitchen in Goathland reported a loss of power and water, which meant losing part of their weekend’s trade.

Storm Barragh came just two weeks after Storm Bert brought snow to higher ground around the Whitby area, with heavy rainfall then following a rapid thaw.

Thankfully, the forecast for this coming week is better – Monday December 9 is expected to be a dry day in, with plenty of bright spells and a few patches of cloud, although it will be a little breezy.