THE Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for the North-East and North Yorkshire.

After a weekend of warmth and sunshine, experts say heavy rain is expected to hit the region on Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: "Heavy, thundery showers will break out on Tuesday afternoon over parts of northern England and Scotland.

"These will be slow moving, and whilst many places will miss the worst, they will bring some localised torrential downpours.

"The public should be aware of the possibility of surface water flooding and travel disruption."

Forecasters say warm, moist air will turn unstable as the ground heats up, releasing heavy, thundery showers.

"Many of these will be over high ground, but will drift into lower-lying areas too," the spokesman said.

"There could be more than 20 mm in the hour locally, with more than 50 mm in a few hours possible."

The local authority areas affected include:

  • Darlington 
  • Durham
  • North Yorkshire