JUST what is happening to the weather? After yesterday's dramatic snowfall and sleet, heavy overnight rain led to flooding today.

Travellers at a caravan site in York were left knee-deep in floodwater after a beck overflowed its banks, and a road at Stockton-on- the-Forest was flooded.

But after today's mild weather, winter looks set to return tomorrow, with weathermen predicting snow blowing in from the east. And there may be another Arctic blast by the end of the weekend.

The continuing cold weather - coming just a week or so before the start of British Summer Time - might lead people to believe warnings of global warming are just so much hot air.

But a spokesman for PA weather centre said the cold weather in the past fortnight had come in on winds from the east and north, from areas where temperatures could fall as low as minus 35 or 40 centigrade.

He said even if average temperatures in such areas rose a couple of degrees, Britain would still get icy weather given the right winds.

Travellers at the James Street site complained today they were woken at 3am by water seeping into their caravans after a nearby beck overflowed its banks.

They said they had to wade through knee-deep water and move belongings to prevent them being damaged.

Firefighters were called out, but were unable to pump out the water, which had reached two to three feet deep.

Traveller Ann Baxter, 46, claimed a flood gate by the beck had been left closed, allowing water to spill out across the area.

Eventually, workers arrived at about 4am to open the gates and the water had subsided by 7am.

Floodwaters covered roads between Stockton-on-the-Forest and York, near Dean's garden centre and between Tollerton and Helperby.

Meanwhile, City of York Council has further defended the performance of its gritting teams during yesterday morning's blizzards following criticisms from some motorists.

One driver, Andrew Pindar, claimed the A59 was fairly well cleared of snow and ice yesterday morning as he drove towards York from Harrogate - until he reached the Red Lion at Poppleton, after which conditions deteriorated badly.

But the council said it gritted the York section of the A59 four times on Monday night and early yesterday, as its full gritting operation swung into action. However, a spokeswoman said the first two grittings had been largely washed away by freezing rain which fell on Monday night instead of the forecast snow.

She said after completing gritting of the major routes, teams had yesterday been out to clear rural roads and had also gritted a number of pavements in York to make them safe.

However, a disabled woman who slipped on black ice and twisted her ankle today hit out at the council's gritting policy.

Meningitis survivor Janinne Lee, pictured, 56, of Horseman Avenue, who walks with a stick, was making her way along Walmgate at 9am yesterday when she fell on what she claims was an ungritted pavement, leaving her in severe pain.

"It was horrendous trying to get down the pavement. It was totally ungritted and unsafe," said Miss Lee. "Years ago they used to grit before people got out and about, but not now.

A spokesman for City of York Council said gritting teams had been out in the city centre throughout the night and they did a second sweep, including Walmgate, early on Tuesday.

Updated: 09:29 Wednesday, March 15, 2006