A YELLOW weather warning is in place until midnight tonight as thunderstorms are set to batter much of the North East.

The warning has been put in place for places across the region, as well as central parts of England as well as parts of Northern Ireland and southern Scotland. 

Lightning and hail are predicted along with 20-33mm of rain accumulating in a few hours.

The heavy rain could bring some localised flooding with residents warned of potential damage to property.

The Northern Echo:

What to expect

There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or 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 a small chance that some communities become cut off by flooded roads

There is a slight chance that power cuts could occur and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost

Long range forecast

The rest of the week is set to be pretty wet too - albeit with some sunny spells inbetween downpours.

Sunny spells and some locally heavy showers have been forecast for Monday, but the Met Office says they will gradually ease from the west through the afternoon with some longer spells of sunshine later in the day. Maximum temperature 20 °C.

Heavy rain Tuesday morning is set to clear to sunshine and showers. Wednesday is set to be breezy with sunny intervals and locally heavy showers. Sunshine and scattered showers are predicted for Thursday, with lighter winds.

But there is some good news on the horizon. 

Britain could be set to bake in another heatwave as a sizzling 28C Spanish plume prepares to grip the nation, according to the latest long-range weather maps.

July is forecast to start with mixed conditions of both spells of rain, wind and sunshine. But the hot weather is expected to return and stick around later in the month. The latest heat maps from Netweather show dark shades of red sweeping the nation on July 15, with parts of the country expected to hitin 28C temperatures.