Bolts of lightning lit up the York skyline as the unsettled Easter weather rumbled on.

LIGHT FANTASTIC: Fork lightning shoots down behind a house near Leeman Road in York

Picture: Steven Bradshaw

What started as a typical wash-out of a bank holiday weekend was saved when the sun burst through to give us a warmer than average Easter Sunday.

But electric storm clouds gathered yesterday evening and hail pummelled the city.

Fears that the River Derwent could burst its banks proved unfounded, although levels remained high at Malton and Stamford Bridge.

One of the biggest events planned locally for the weekend was scuppered by strong winds.

An attempt to land the massive Goodyear airship at Elvington airfield had to be abandoned as the world-famous giant was pinned down west of the Pennines.

But Yorkshire Air Museum director Ian Reed said visitor numbers were still double the weekend average and no one left disappointed.

"It's one of those things you get used to in the aviation business," he said.

York remained very busy, with many hotels and guest houses fully booked.

Both the York Story and the York Castle Museum reported good takings, particularly when the rains came on Saturday.

Saturday's downpour prevented some of the predicted traffic chaos by stopping many people from venturing outside.

An AA spokesman said large tailbacks built up on the A165 and A171 on Saturday morning as people headed for Scarborough and the coast.

But as the rains came the crowds dispersed and traffic levels returned to normal.

The rain did cause some problems on the roads, with one lane of the A19 between York and Selby at Crockey Hill closed due to localised flooding.

A PA Weather spokesman said more than 100mm of rain has fallen across the region so far this month, and with 30-40mm forecast before the end of the week, he said we were heading for a record-breaking month for rainfall.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.