12/02/2014 Look North (Yorkshire)

Welcome to the late Look North. Gales and blizzards have been

battering our region this evening causing disruption to transport and

power cuts for thousands. Gusts of over 90 miles an hour were recorded

in one part of South Yorkshire and the Fire and Rescue Service says it

has been at full stretch. We'll have the latest weather and travel for

you in a moment, but first Shamir Masri has this. Tonight we have had

wind speed in excess of 90 miles an hour in some places. I am

overlooking the M 62 and earlier today police closed section of this

road to high sided vehicles with fears of lorries overtraining. Train

services have also been cancelled and there has been disruption at

Leeds airport. Earlier this afternoon the wind caused this lorry

to topple over on the M 62. Just after tea`time a swimming lesson

involving 15 children in Huddersfield was dramatically cut

short after sections of the roof began to come away. Luckily no one

was hurt. The owner of this car was fortunate not to be in it when a

falling tree crushed it in Bingley. It has been a busy night for the

emergency services. It kicked off at around four 30 PM. Trees had

collapsed and traffic collisions. It has started to calm down now but we

are still busy responding to a number of incidents. In Leeds this

voluntary led the road to be closed. The emergency services helps

members of the public were in danger after roof slates were blown onto

the road and pavement below. It will not be until daylight tomorrow

morning when people will realise the full extent of the damage caused.

Our reporter Phil Bodmer has been monitoring the effects of the storm

for us this evening and has this update for us. We have been out and

about in Bradford and needs in the last three hours. Numerous trees

have come down and roof slates have caused a number of road closures.

The emergency services have been at full stretch. In the past hour

Northern Power Grid have told us there are 20,000 properties in

Yorkshire and the North East without power. The majority of those are in

west and central Yorkshire. On the railways, expect delays if you're

travelling anywhere tonight. Services are suspended between

Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester airport because of emergency

engineering works. On the M 18 lorry has overturned and recovery work is

under way. On the A1 two lanes southbound closed because of an

overturned lorry. That is around junction 49. Only a 650 Bridge

Street in Bradford, that is closed in both directions due to an unsafe

building. There are closures on the Woodhead pass tonight due to the

strength of the high wind. A number of other minor routes are also

suffering tonight and are closed. You should take extra care if you're

travelling this evening. Your BBC Local Radio station is on air until

one o'clock tomorrow morning. They'll also have regular travel

updates in Breakfast from six o'clock.

Paul, has it peaked? The exceptional gusts have peaked but we still have

us of around 70 miles an hour. So the exceptional values have gone but

gusts can still cause damage. After midnight the wind will start to ease

considerably. And the flooding situation? The land is on a knife

edge. We saw pictures earlier of water pouring off the land. Still

showers to come tomorrow but more heavy rain coming on Friday and into

the weekend. Full details at the end of the bulletin.

Farmers in Yorkshire are warning that months of flooded fields could

lead to food shortages. Much of Yorkshire's farmland is underwater

yet again and farmers are calling for new investment in the

infrastructure and drainage to ease the situation. Danny Carpenter has

been to meet two of them near the River Don in South Yorkshire. The

eyes of the nation have been fixed on the South West. The worst

flooding in living memory. But this is South Yorkshire were flooding for

farmers has become a fact of life. 2007 was the record year here and

since then it hardly seems to have stopped. The pump has been running

24 74 weeks. The river just keeps on breaking its banks. This is grazing

land for Jersey cows. The farmer keeps selling but the water keeps

coming back. It kills the grass and the soil it grows on. We need to go

back to a managed river system. There are 60 million people in this

country and that has a big effect on the environment. These rivers need

to be managed so the river runs the way it is supposed to. His neighbour

is busy lambing. He also grows food crops when he can. Every year he is

losing land to floods and he is worried about the long`term impact.

There needs to be new money and some real investment in the

infrastructure of drainage. Just to protect houses seems ridiculous

because people in those houses need to eat from somewhere. In the future

we have to realise that and put more value on farmland. It is a simple

fact that the most fertile soil is one `` is found in river valleys.

Soil that cannot be cropped if it is underwater. The harsh and simple

mouse is that more floods means less food.

Meanwhile a farmer from another part of our region is preparing to send

help in the form of animal feed and bedding to Somerset. Two tractors

and two trailers will be setting off from Mount Farm at Woolley near

Wakefield tomorrow. They'll be carrying 15 tonnes of hay, haylage

and sileage to help the stricken farmers in the South West.

The details of the weather now. It is still quite stormy and will be

until midnight. Let us take a look at how those wins have been through

the course of the evening. `` wind. Above 70 miles an hour is when you

begin to see structural damage. After midnight it is still going to

be windy but not the severe gales that we have right now. You do not

get areas of low pressure much deeper than that. Tomorrow we have a

bit of respite. But this system is coming in for Friday. More wind and

rain on its way. Right now it is very windy indeed and we have

scattered showers. Those showers wintry over the hills that they use

of northwards and it becomes mostly dry. Watch out for icy patches. For

tomorrow it is a better day with some sunshine and a scattering of

wintry showers. Later we could see showers becoming more organised

across northern areas. But worst and South Yorkshire having a lot of dry

weather tomorrow. Friday, a fine and frosty start but more heavy rain and

strong wind. That is all from me and the team. Here is the summary of the

forecast Good evening. What an incredible day

of weather it has been. We saw gusts of wind up to 108 mph in the West of

Wales. The wind is easing down a notch or two but we still have a

high-level amber warning from the Met Office for the strength of the

wind over the next few hours over quite a large swathe of the UK.

Northern Ireland, northern England and down across Wales, there is

still potential for damaging and disruptive gusts of wind. This huge

curl of cloud is bringing wet and windy weather across much of the

West of Europe. It curls back across the north of the UK and that's the

centre of the area of low pressure with the strongest winds just to the

south of that. Let's focus on the winds over the next few hours. The

ease down by a notch or two but still blustery conditions over most

of Wales. High seas around the coast and gusting up to 70 mph. Easily

around the 80 mph mark across much of northern England. Across the

Pennines this evening and overnight, travelling will be treacherous. Wind

and rain at lower levels will produce a lot of spray. You don t

have to go to high up the Pennines to see that turned to snow. One way

or another, further disruption to travel is more than likely. BBC

local radio will keep you up-to date on where you are and where you are

trying to get to. The centre of the low system moves northwards. Pretty

heavy snow developing across the hills of Scotland with several

centimetres by dawn. A bit of snow for Northern Ireland and wintry

showers drifting across the southern counties. A risk of ice with most

races are seeing the temperatures a degree or so either side of

freezing. A cold, windy start Thursday but I think it be a better

day. No persistent rain to be seen. There should be some spells of

sunshine for many of us, as well. Does it last until the end of the

week? I'm afraid not. It goes downhill on Friday. This low

pressure will head our way. Lots of isobars on the chart later in the

day. Gusts of 60, 70 or 80 mph, with rain spreading northwards.

Significant snow for parts of Northern Ireland and southern

Scotland. Windy into the start of the weekend. Saturday has outbreaks

of rain. On Sunday, something of a respite. The winds will ease down

and it should