The return to work after the festive break will be very wet, the Met Office is warning.

It has issued a yellow weather warning for York and part of North Yorkshire starting at 5pm today and finishing at 9pm tomorrow. It is forecasting heavy rain with some areas expected to get 35 to 50 mm and elsewhere 15 to 30 mm.

The peak time for rain in York and North Yorkshire will be tomorrow, with the rainfall starting in the south-west of England early this evening and spreading north overnight. There is expected to be a pause in the morning before more rain in the afternoon and early evening. 

Anyone travelling is urged to check road conditions if driving, not to drive into flood water, check for disruption to buses or trains and amend travel plans if necessary.

The River Ouse is already high following the rain in recent days and weeks and the ground is so saturated tomorrow’s rain is expected to go straight into the rivers and could cause localised ground flooding.

At midday today, the river level at Ouse Bridge in York was 3.92 metres or 12 foot 10 inches. The river has now been at or near to four metres since 5am on December 29.

York and North Yorkshire are currently forecast to escape the worst of the weather with the Midlands south of Lincoln and Derby subject to a yellow warning for wind as well as the yellow warning for rain.