Travel disruption warning as Storm Éowyn hits
Coastal areas are likely to see the worst of the conditions, according to the Met Office
- Published
Strong winds of up to 80mph (129km/h) are expected in parts of Yorkshire on Friday, as Storm Éowyn brings disruption to the region.
An amber weather warning issued by the Met Office covers large parts of the county, including areas to the north of York, and Bradford and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. A less severe yellow warning covers the rest of the county.
Tourist attractions Castle Howard and Fountains Abbey, both in North Yorkshire, have closed for the day, while train operators have warned their services will be affected.
Flights from Leeds Bradford Airport to Belfast and Dublin, where some of the worst of the gusts are expected, have also been cancelled.
The amber weather warning covers large parts of North, West and South Yorkshire
The A628 Woodhead Pass in South Yorkshire has been closed to all vehicles in both directions between the A616 for Flouch and the A57 at Hollingworth.
Speaking to the BBC, Dean Murray from National Highways said motorists should expect conditions to change quickly.
He said: "Prepare your journey. Take a bit longer. Drive slower and the advice is to keep both hands on the wheel.
"Maintain a little bit more distance between you and the vehicle in front.
"Check routes before you travel in case things change. Take things slowly and carefully, that's the best thing we can advise."
The amber warning is in place until 21:00 GMT
Northern said its services between Leeds and Bradford and Leeds and Ilkley were disrupted due to the weather, with Network Rail engineers on site.
LNER advised its passengers not to travel to stations north of York.
In Leeds, more than 2,000 households had their power supplies restored after an outage was reported in the West Park and Cookridge areas at around 07:30 GMT.
The amber weather warning is in place until 21:00 GMT on Friday, while the yellow weather warning, which covers most of South Yorkshire, Leeds, Wakefield, York and Tadcaster, is in place until midnight.
The Met Office has advised people to prepare for potential power cuts and for those in coastal areas to be conscious of large waves during stormy weather.
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