Rain and snow forecast for the North East this week…

Rain and snow forecast for the North East this week with Met Office weather warning in force

The North East is in for an unsettled week of weather as a yellow warning comes into force amid further wintry spells of snow, sleet and rain.

According to the Met Office forecast, rain is increasingly set to turn to sleet and snow on Monday evening, with widespread frost and icy patches developing towards dawn as temperatures plummet to as low as -4°C in the region. Tuesday will get off to a cold but sunny start, with occasional snow showers and gusty winds from mid-morning,

The outlook for Wednesday is a bright and frosty morning before snow during the evening and rain overnight, giving way to a milder Thursday and Friday with further spells of rain. It comes as a yellow weather warning is in force from 5pm on Monday until 10am on Tuesday for snow and ice across the whole region.

The Met Office warns that rain, sleet and snow followed by ice are likely to cause some impacts to travel in the North East. This is due to rain turning to sleet and snow as it moves in from the north on Monday evening, before a sharp temperature drop overnight results in ice forming.

Looking ahead to the early UK forecast for the weekend, Saturday is likely to be cloudy with long spells of rain possible for many areas, with the Met Office predicting some further sleet or snow and strong winds in the north. More wintry showers are expected across the country on Sunday, leading to frost and ice as we head into the following week.

The Met Office have said there is a chance that further weather warnings will be issued as the week progresses. Met Office Chief Forecaster, Dan Suri, said: "An area of low pressure moving eastward has brought a mild, and blustery start to the week for much of England and Wales, with showers and some coastal gales.

"However, an Arctic maritime air mass will reassert itself from the north later today [Monday] bringing with it another dose of snow and frosty nights for some. As we head through the second half of the week conditions turn milder, wetter and windier from the west.

"This change to milder conditions will be preceded by some snow over parts of northern England and Scotland later on Wednesday, mainly over higher ground." Here's an hour-by-hour breakdown of what the weather will look like in Newcastle over the next couple of days: