North East Met Office weather map shows strongest winds as Storm Herminia hits

A weather map showing wind speeds across the North East at 5pm on Sunday, January 26, including 49mph in Berwick, 42mph in Newcastle, and 40mph in Darlington.
-Credit:Met Office


A fresh spell of stormy weather is set to bring more strong winds to the North East today, Sunday January 26, as the region continues to recover from Storm Eowyn.

Storm Herminia has been named by the Spanish Meteorological Service and has prompted weather warnings to be issued across the UK, with wind and rain expected to cause further disruption. While Storm Herminia did not meet the criteria to be named by the Met Office's storm naming group, forecasters have warned that the system could still lead to travel delays, flooding and power cuts in parts of the UK on Sunday and into next week.

Although the North East is forecast to escape the worst of Storm Herminia's impact, with no warnings having been issued for the region at the time of writing, the storm will nonetheless make itself known. The latest weather maps from the Met Office show wind gusts strengthening throughout the North East on Sunday, climbing into the thirties for most areas by midday before hitting the forties across the whole region by 3pm.

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READ MORE: North East hour-by-hour forecast as Storm Herminia to bring more disruption after Storm Eowyn

READ MORE: Storm Herminia to follow Eowyn with strong winds and heavy rain across the UK

The strongest winds in the region are forecast at 5pm on Sunday, with gusts peaking at 50mph in Middleton, Northumberland, while Berwick and Alnwick are expected to see 49mph. Newcastle and Sunderland, meanwhile, will also see strong winds peaking at 42mph and 45mph respectively this evening, while in County Durham gusts of between 39mph (Bishop Auckland) and 44mph (Hartlepool) are anticipated.

Winds are set to drop gradually into the evening following this peak, with Berwick seeing top gusts of 37mph by 9pm, while in Newcastle speeds will fall to 28mph, Sunderland to 30mph, and Darlington to 26mph by this time. While Monday, January 27 is set to be calmer as Storm Herminia moves away to hit Spain, it will still feel breezy with the strongest wind gusts hitting 36mph in Durham between 4pm and 6pm.

Much of the region is also expected to see heavy rain on Sunday afternoon, which could turn wintry over the hills. Weather maps show a band of rain and hail spreading north-eastwards and hitting County Durham at around 2pm, spreading to Newcastle by 3pm and covering the whole region by 4pm with heavy rainfall in excess of 4mm an hour in some places.

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The Met Office forecast for Monday in the North East reads: "Any overnight rain soon clearing, allowing for brighter or sunny spells during the morning. Further showers or longer spells of rain then spreading north and east. Strengthening breeze later."

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, strong winds are expected to persist on Tuesday, January 28 with more rain or showers across the region. However, it is likely to turn drier on Wednesday and Thursday with lighter winds accompanied by overnight frost and fog patches, with temperatures peaking in single figures.