YORK'S River Ouse is set to rise again tomorrow following heavy rain upstream - but experts no longer expect the flooding to be quite as bad as it was after Storm Dennis.

A rainfall radar image from Netweather showed heavy rain falling today in the river's catchment in the Yorkshire Dales, while York itself stayed largely dry.

The Environment Agency feared previously that the Dales rainfall could see Ouse levels in York rise again over the weekend to 4.4 metres above normal summer levels, which they reached on Monday.

But a spokesman said today that its predictions had now changed in the light of new data and forecasts and, while levels would increase, they were no longer expected to rise that high.

However, there was some concern about the cumulative effect of more rain being forecast for Monday.

City of York Council said flood defences remained in place in preparation for further rainfall, but the city remained open for business.

A spokesperson said staff had visited properties in flood risk areas this week to reassure and update residents ahead of the further rain expected this weekend.

"Further community drop-in sessions will take place in coming weeks to listen to resident experiences and feedback on the city’s flood preparations," they said.

"The council continues to work closely with the York and North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which includes police and fire services as well as North Yorkshire County Council, Met Office and Environment Agency."

Council leader Keith Aspden thanked residents for their patience and cooperation as the city dealt with storms on consecutive weekends.

"My thanks also go to our staff and partners for their hard work, which has gone beyond required duties these last few weeks," he said.

“Please keep an eye out for the latest information and alerts from the Environment Agency for updates on river levels in the city.”