It's been a glorious week across the North East as a summer heatwave hit the region. 

Residents enjoyed a sizzling start to the week after temperatures in Durham reached 26°C on Monday, hotter than those in Barcelona. 

Sadly, the warm weather has started to cool off as the week has gone on - and while temperatures aren't set to be as hot going into the weekend, The Met Office hopes the North East will enjoy a largely sunny few days with light winds. 

Forecasters say Friday will be rather breezy and cloudy across the North East, with occasional showers in some parts, which will fade through the afternoon.

Sunny spells are (thankfully) also likely, with the winds expected to ease throughout the day, and maximum temperatures are expected to be around 19°C.

Tonight, there may be the odd shower, but otherwise the region will be dry with long clear spells and light winds. It will be rather cool, however, with a minimum temperature of 7 °C.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Saturday is expected to be dry and largely sunny with light winds, and temperatures will be near average for late June (maximum of 21 °C). 

Sunday will be dry with sunny spells and variable cloud - although a band of rain will spread southeast on Monday, being heavy at times. 

You may be wondering when we're next set for a heatwave - and Heart have said that this is likely to be at the end of June and the start of July. More on that here.

Here’s an hour-by-hour forecast for Darlington today: 

7am: Cloudy, 10% chance of rain, 13°C (feels like 11°C), 25mph wind gusts

8am: Sunny intervals, <5% chance of rain, 14°C (feels like 11°C), 28mph wind gusts

9am: Overcast, 20% chance of rain, 14°C (feels like 11°C), 25mph wind gusts

10am: Overcast, 10% chance of rain, 15°C (feels like 12°C), 24mph wind gusts

11am: Cloudy, 10% chance of rain, 16°C (feels like 12°C), 29mph wind gusts

12pm: Sunny, <5% chance of rain, 16°C (feels like 12°C), 30mph wind gusts

1pm: Light shower, 30% chance of rain, 16°C (feels like 13°C), 29mph wind gusts

2pm: Overcast, 10% chance of rain, 16°C (feels like 13°C), 26mph wind gusts

3pm: Cloudy, 10% chance of rain, 17°C (feels like 13°C), 28mph wind gusts

4pm: Cloudy, 10% chance of rain, 17°C (feels like 13°C), 30mph wind gusts

5pm: Sunny intervals, <5% chance of rain, 17°C (feels like 13°C), 26mph wind gusts

6pm: Sunny, <5% chance of rain, 17°C (feels like 13°C), 27mph wind gusts

7pm: Sunny intervals, <5% chance of rain, 16°C (feels like 13°C), 26mph wind gusts

8pm: Cloudy, <5% chance of rain, 16°C (feels like 13°C), 21mph wind gusts

9pm: Sunny, <5% chance of rain, 15°C (feels like 13°C), 19mph wind gusts

10pm: Partly cloudy night, <5% chance of rain, 13°C (feels like 10°C), 15mph wind gusts

11pm: Partly cloudy night, <5% chance of rain, 12°C (feels like 9°C), 13mph wind gusts

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