A yellow weather alert has been issued by the Met Office as much of the North East is set to be hit by thunderstorms with "frequent lightning".

Durham and Darlington are expected to be hit by heavy showers and potentially lightning and hail on September 2.

The alert - which will last from the early hours of Monday until midnight - covers the North East and Yorkshire, as well as the Midlands, the South, and parts of the North West and Wales.  

What should you expect?

  • 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
  • Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures, with a small chance that some communities could be temporarily cut off by flooded roads
  • 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

A Met Office spokesperson said: "On Monday, areas of heavy showers and thunderstorms are likely to be ongoing from overnight and expected to continue to affect parts of the UK through the day.

"The focus for thunderstorms and impacts is expected to gradually move east later in the day.

"The extent of these thunderstorms remains very uncertain and whilst many places will miss them, some places may see 30 to 40 mm of rain fall in less than an hour and perhaps over 60-80 mm in one or two places.

"Frequent lightning strikes and hail will be additional hazards."

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In the North East, these are expected to be impacted by the yellow warning: 

  • Darlington
  • Durham
  • Gateshead
  • Hartlepool
  • Middlesbrough
  • Newcastle upon Tyne
  • North Tyneside
  • Northumberland
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • South Tyneside
  • Stockton-on-Tees
  • Sunderland