Hopes for another glorious bank holiday may be dashed as dull, rainy weather takes over this week.
In the days leading up to the early May B ank Holiday weekend , rain showers and overcast skies are expected in the North East.
There will be ups and downs in the temperatures as they drop to just above the freezing mark at night and struggle to break into the high teens during the day.
Rain, fog and mist threaten to disrupt travel as May gets off to a miserable start, but there will be some dry and bright periods, the Met Office says.
The weather will turn colder on Friday as millions hit the motorways or head to airports for a bank holiday getaway, with highs of around 9C.
Monday got off to a dull start with patchy rain, fog and low cloud, but there will be long spells of sunshine later in the day.
Pollen levels will be high across the North East, and UV levels will be moderate in areas where the sun breaks through the cloud.
Tuesday will be mostly dry and bright and will be the best day of the week with highs of 16C.
Showers are expected widely on Wednesday and Thursday as temperatures start to slide.
The weather will turn colder on Friday as we head into the bank holiday weekend with strong northerly winds particularly around the coast.
The weekend itself will get off to a gloomy start and it won't be as pleasant as the 26C Easter heatwave.
But the Met Office is expecting a pattern of generally dry weather to develop with some sunshine.
The latest extended forecast suggests temperatures will remain around 10C in the North before warming by a few degrees on Sunday and the bank holiday Monday.
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