Rush hour commuters will be rocked by high winds with gales of up to 70mph in County Durham.
A weather warning has been issued across the North East for strong winds, expected between 3pm and 9pm on Thursday.
The Met Office has said that travel disruption is likely during the warning period, especially affecting high-sided vehicles on exposed roads and bridges.
Some power cuts are also possible as lines could be damaged in the winds.
The strong westerly winds are expected to develop during Thursday afternoon.
The strongest winds are likely to be over and east of the Pennines, with gusts of 50 to 60mph in places.
Isolated gusts of around 70mph may affect western parts of Durham and North Yorkshire. The peak of the strongest winds is likely to coincide with the evening rush hour.
As well as County Durham, much of Wearside and Tyneside and parts of western Northumberland are in the warning zone.
The gusty weather will bring mild temperatures however, with lows of 8C overnight.
The winds should ease by Friday morning with temperatures staying in double figures as we head into the weekend.
