County Durham is set to be hit by heavy showers and thunderstorms as The Met Offices issues a yellow weather warning for the region. 

The alert - which will last from 11am until 9pm on Tuesday - covers most of Yorkshire, the East Midlands, and parts of the North West and North East. 

The forecaster said that lightning could damage a few buildings and structures, cause short-term loss of power, and potentially even the flooding of a few homes and businesses. 

It said: “Showers developing later on Tuesday morning, becoming heavy with some thunderstorms through the afternoon and early evening.

"Some of these will be slow-moving with lightning, hail and also heavy rain and a few places seeing 20-30 mm of rain in one hour.”

There will be a good chance that driving conditions will be “affected by spray, standing water and/or hail, leading to longer journey times by car and bus.” 

Delays to train services are also possible.

The bleak June forecast comes as most of the rest of the UK is set to bask in sunny spells and dry conditions, with temperatures in London set to be above 20C. 

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Temperatures so far in June have been a few degrees below their seasonal average - with the North East facing colder conditions and rainy spells in recent weeks. 

The weather has even affected small businesses, which rely on tourism or high street foot traffic at the start of summer.

The UK experienced the coolest first 10 days of June since 2020, in contrast to the hottest June on record this time last year, when it was as hot as 32.2C in Lincolnshire and Surrey.