A thunderstorm warning has been issued by the Met Office for the region later this week, as chances of flooding, power cuts, and lightning are 'likely'. 

The warning will be in place from midday until 11.59pm on Thursday (August 1) - with Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar, and Stockton-on-Tees all affected by this. 

In the outlook on the Met Office website for Wednesday to Friday, the forecast says: "Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop on Thursday and may lead to some disruption."

Here's some advice from the Met Office:

What should I expect?

  • Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
  • Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services
  • There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost
  • There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds
  • There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life

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Parts of the North East affected

  • Darlington
  • Durham
  • Hartlepool
  • Middlesbrough
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • Stockton-on-Tees

Further details of the Met Office warning

Heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely to break out across parts of England and Wales on Thursday afternoon.

The exact location of showers is still uncertain and some places will stay dry all day. However, where the showers do occur they could be torrential, with the additional hazards of lightning, hail and gusty winds. The heaviest showers could result in 20-30 mm within an hour, with 24 hour accumulations possibly reaching as much as 70-90 mm where multiple showers affect the same location.