Yahoo News Thunderstorms to hit parts of the North East today as Met Office issues 8-hour warning
Yet another thunderstorm warning has been issued for parts of the North East with heavy showers set to batter the region and cause some disruption today, Wednesday July 10.
The Met Office has put a Yellow warning in place for thunderstorms from 12pm until 8pm affecting areas of Northumberland and County Durham. Forecasters have advised that there is a "good chance" of driving conditions being affected by spray, standing water and hail, which may lead to longer journey times by car and bus.
Some flooding of a few homes and businesses is also possible, with 15 to 25mm of rain expected to fall in less than an hour. Lightning strikes will be an additional hazard with the potential to cause some damage to buildings and structures, and the thunderstorms could also cause delays to train services, the Met Office warned.
Forecasters advised in the warning: "Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to break out today, mainly during the afternoon. Some places will miss these, but where the do occur, 15 to 25 mm rain may fall in less than an hour with a small chance of one or two spots seeing up to 40 mm in two hours, leading to a chance of localised flooding."
The showers and storms are expected to gradually ease during the evening. Here's what the weather forecast looks like hour-by-hour in Durham today, with the city and much of the surrounding county covered by the Yellow thunderstorm warning.
Hour-by-hour forecast for Wednesday, July 10 in Durham
11am: 15°C / Overcast / 50% chance of precipitation
12pm: 15°C / Light rain / 60% chance of precipitation
1pm: 15°C / Light rain / 80% chance of precipitation
2pm: 15°C / Heavy rain / 90% chance of precipitation
3pm: 15°C / Heavy rain / 90% chance of precipitation
4pm: 15°C / Heavy rain / 90% chance of precipitation
5pm: 14°C / Heavy rain / 90% chance of precipitation
6pm: 14°C / Light rain / 90% chance of precipitation
7pm: 13°C / Light rain / 90% chance of precipitation
8pm: 13°C / Light rain / 80% chance of precipitation
9pm: 13°C / Light rain / 60% chance of precipitation
10pm: 12°C / Light rain / 70% chance of precipitation
11pm: 12°C / Light rain / 60% chance of precipitation
Looking ahead to the rest of the week, the Met Office forecast for the North East predicts that Thursday will see outbreaks of mostly light rain that will ease throughout the morning most, although the wet weather could linger near the coast. Bright spells are likely to develop later on with highs of 17°C, ahead of sunny spells and scattered showers on Friday.
