People in some North East areas are being warned to expect thunderstorms over the next few days.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms affecting the County Durham area, including Durham, Darlington, and further afield in Hartlepool.
The alert is for weather between 6pm on Wednesday and Friday morning.
A Met Office spokesperson said: "Some places are likely to see thunderstorms later Wednesday through to Friday with the potential for travel disruption and flooding.
"Although there remains significant uncertainty in location and timing, areas of thunderstorms are expected to move north east across parts of England and Wales from late Wednesday through to Friday morning.
"Whilst not all locations will be affected, some intense thunderstorms may occur during this period with torrential rain, hail, frequent lightning and strong gusty winds possible.
"Rainfall totals of around 30mm could fall in an hour, with some locations potentially receiving around 50mm in 2-3 hours, although these will be fairly isolated."
The weather experts further say there is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail and strong winds.
Where flooding or lightning strikes occur, there is a chance of delays and some cancellations to train and bus services.
Spray and sudden flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.
There is also a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.
The yellow warning also covers Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.
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