A car was seen going into the River Kent at Aynam Road in Kendal at about 15:50 GMT
Emergency services have scaled down a search for a man after a car reportedly plunged into a Cumbrian river.
Cumbria Police said "difficult weather conditions" made it too dangerous to continue.
The car is reported to have entered the River Kent in Kendal at 15:55 GMT with witnesses saying they saw an older man trying to climb out.
A coastguard helicopter is continuing an air search, but land operations have been paused until Tuesday morning.
The coastguard helicopter will carry on searching
A spokesman for Cumbria Police said: "The search has been conducted under difficult weather conditions and the dangers to the emergency service personnel involved means that unfortunately the search has had to be scaled back with an air search continuing at this time by the coastguard's helicopter.
"This will be reviewed again in the morning.
"Members of the public are asked not to search along the banks of the River Kent due to the extreme dangers of the condition of the banks and the rising river."
The fire service, police, coastguard and volunteers from Kendal Mountain Rescue have all been involved with the search since the car entered the river at Aynam Road.
Police are investigating why the the car left the road.
Several rescue services are involved in the search
BBC Cumbria's Martin Lewes said rainfall had swollen the river.
He said the river could be up to 8ft (2.4m) deep in places and the search had moved several miles downstream from where the car entered.
He added: "The river is about as high as it gets before people start to seriously worry about it.
"There is a mystery about how the car managed to leave the road, which is a fairly straight road along the side of the river.
"The mystery is where the car has got to and what has happened to the man who was seen with it and anyone else inside."
