(Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)
Darlington is braced for a chilly, wet and windy weekend as Storm Boelo sweeps across the North East.
A yellow weather warning for wind will come into force at 6pm on Saturday (October 24) and remain in place until 9pm on Sunday, with Darlington among the areas affected.
Saturday will get off to a chilly start before the weather takes a turn, with rain moving in during the morning and winds picking up as the day goes on.
Temperatures will start at around 6C at 7am before slowly climbing to 12C by 6pm, although it will feel several degrees colder in the wind.
Rain will become increasingly likely through the morning, with the chance rising to 80 per cent by 10am and at least 95 per cent from midday into the early evening.
The Met Office forecast for the North East says: “Chilly start Saturday, but turning wet and windy with rain spreading east. Windy Sunday with showers and brighter intervals. Briefly drier overnight, before further rain and stronger winds follow Monday.”
By the time the yellow warning begins at 6pm on Saturday, gusts of around 45mph are forecast in Darlington.
The wind will continue to strengthen into the night, with gusts reaching 49mph by 11pm before conditions worsen into Sunday morning.
Sunday looks set to be the windiest of the two days. Gusts in Darlington are currently forecast to peak at 58mph at 6am and again at 9am, while showers are expected throughout much of the day.
The wind should gradually ease during the afternoon and evening, although gusts will still be around 41mph at 6pm.
Storm Boelo could bring even stronger winds elsewhere, with gusts of between 70mph and 80mph possible in exposed coastal areas and on high ground.
Here is the hour-by-hour forecast for Darlington on Saturday:
7am: 6C, feels like 5C, less than 5 per cent chance of rain, 3mph winds, gusts of 13mph.
8am: 6C, feels like 4C, 10 per cent chance of rain, 5mph winds, gusts of 18mph.
9am: 7C, feels like 5C, 50 per cent chance of rain, 7mph winds, gusts of 23mph.
10am: 8C, feels like 5C, 80 per cent chance of rain, 9mph winds, gusts of 28mph.
11am: 8C, feels like 5C, 90 per cent chance of rain, 13mph winds, gusts of 33mph.
12pm: 9C, feels like 6C, at least 95 per cent chance of rain, 15mph winds, gusts of 38mph.
1pm: 9C, feels like 5C, at least 95 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 43mph.
2pm: 9C, feels like 6C, at least 95 per cent chance of rain, 19mph winds, gusts of 44mph.
3pm: 10C, feels like 7C, at least 95 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 44mph.
4pm: 11C, feels like 8C, at least 95 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 43mph.
5pm: 11C, feels like 8C, at least 95 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 45mph.
6pm: 12C, feels like 9C, at least 95 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 45mph.
7pm: 10C, feels like 6C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 43mph.
8pm: 9C, feels like 6C, 50 per cent chance of rain, 17mph winds, gusts of 42mph.
9pm: 9C, feels like 5C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 43mph.
10pm: 9C, feels like 5C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 19mph winds, gusts of 45mph.
11pm: 9C, feels like 5C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 20mph winds, gusts of 49mph.
Here is the hour-by-hour forecast for Darlington on Sunday:
7am: 8C, feels like 4C, 80 per cent chance of rain, 24mph winds, gusts of 57mph.
8am: 8C, feels like 4C, 80 per cent chance of rain, 23mph winds, gusts of 57mph.
9am: 9C, feels like 4C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 25mph winds, gusts of 58mph.
10am: 10C, feels like 6C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 25mph winds, gusts of 55mph.
11am: 10C, feels like 6C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 25mph winds, gusts of 56mph.
12pm: 10C, feels like 6C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 25mph winds, gusts of 55mph.
1pm: 10C, feels like 6C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 25mph winds, gusts of 51mph.
2pm: 11C, feels like 7C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 25mph winds, gusts of 51mph.
3pm: 10C, feels like 6C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 23mph winds, gusts of 47mph.
4pm: 9C, feels like 6C, 70 per cent chance of rain, 21mph winds, gusts of 46mph.
5pm: 9C, feels like 5C, 60 per cent chance of rain, 19mph winds, gusts of 43mph.
6pm: 9C, feels like 5C, 60 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 41mph.
7pm: 9C, feels like 5C, 50 per cent chance of rain, 18mph winds, gusts of 39mph.
8pm: 9C, feels like 5C, 50 per cent chance of rain, 16mph winds, gusts of 38mph.
9pm: 9C, feels like 6C, 40 per cent chance of rain, 14mph winds, gusts of 36mph.
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10pm: 9C, feels like 6C, 30 per cent chance of rain, 13mph winds, gusts of 34mph.
11pm: 9C, feels like 6C, 30 per cent chance of rain, 11mph winds, gusts of 31mph.
The yellow warning is due to settle at 9pm on Sunday, but the weather is not expected to disappear completely, with further rain and stronger winds forecast across the North East on Monday.