Heavy snow and rain has led to travel disruption across parts of Yorkshire and warnings of potential flooding as Storm Bert sweeps across the region. Four flood alerts are in place in West Yorkshire along sections of the River Aire and River Calder, with a further alert in place for the North Sea coast at Bridlington in East Yorkshire.

One of the strongest storms on the West Coast in decades knocked out power for thousands of people, unleashed strong winds that toppled trees and left two dead in Washington before making its way through Oregon to Northern California where on Thursday it dropped heavy snow and record amounts of rain.

High winds whipping the Carson City area Friday afternoon were harbingers of a powerful storm cycle expected to deliver snow to the mountains and rain to valley floors through the weekend.