Heavy rain caused havoc across the region on Thursday, with road and rail disruption and the cancellation of a much-anticipated Christmas event.
The Met Office extended a yellow weather warning for rain which started at one minute past midnight on Thursday morning, which is now set to lift at 7am on Friday morning. The rain is expected to clear by Friday afternoon.
The Tyne and Wear Metro saw severe disruptions to services around the Sunderland area due to an overhead line problem, while the entrance to Platform 1 Chillingham Road Metro Station in Heaton was underwater. Roads in Heaton were also hit, with drivers on the Coast Road battling enormous puddles at the Chillingham Road/Coast Road roundabout - though it was not closed due to flooding as it was on November 1.
Read more: Heavy rain for North East on Thursday and Friday as Met Office extends yellow weather warning
Torrential rain caused problems on many roads around the region - one vehicle crashed on the A690 in Durham, with the cause thought to be standing water. Luckily the driver was uninjured, according to Durham Constabulary.
The A691 in Durham was also partially blocked, while flooding caused the temporary closure of the Swalwell Junction of the A1 Western Bypass. The aptly named Neptune Road in Scotswood was also considered impassable due to heavy rainfall.
In addition to disruption on the roads and Metro, wider rail services were affected after flooding between the Scottish border and Edinburgh Waverley saw a speed limit invoked on the East Coast mainline, affecting LNER, Lumo, CrossCountry and TransPennine Express services. But the heavy rain caused more than just travel heartache, with the opening day of Newcastle's Winter Wonderland cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
A post on the Winter Wonderland Facebook page read: "Due to the weather warning that has been issued to day we have taken the decision to not open Winter wonderland this evening, for safety reasons. We will be opening as normal tomorrow with walk-ins available all week."
Organisers also reassured guests who had tickets for the opening night that they could use them to enter on another day, while they added that they were checking weather warnings. At the time of writing, the Winter Wonderland is due to open on Friday November 18 instead - though that could change if the heavy rain continues.
Did you change or cancel plans due to Thursday's heavy rain? Let us know!
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