Major travel disruption and power cuts as the North East is hit by Storm Dudley
The North East battened down the hatches overnight as Storm Dudley ripped through the region.
Strong winds left over 20,000 homes with power issues, and caused major travel disruption.
Northern Powergrid have restored power to the majority of homes, and are now working to fix the last 1,200 homes.
A statement today said: "There is a possibility that a small number will run into Friday – the weather is unlikely to hamper our work today but the detailed requirements of some of the work is still unknown.
"Our welfare support teams are working with our Local Resilience Forum partners to support the communities affected
"We are also preparing for Storm Eunice, which is due to hit our operating area on Friday."
The Met Office warned that "injuries and danger to life is likely from large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and properties."
Winds are expected to ease, initially across western areas, through Thursday (February 17) afternoon and evening.
More strong winds of up to 60-70 mph - with a yellow weather warning - are expected across the UK on Friday (February 18) as Storm Eunice takes over from Dudley.
It is not yet clear where within the warning area the strongest winds will be but coastal winds are likely to be the strongest with gusts of between 60mph and 70mph.
In addition to the wind, there is the potential for a period of snow and perhaps blizzard conditions, most likely over Northern England and parts of Scotland.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said that "this whole week is going to see quite a disturbed weather pattern developing across the UK".
"There could be some quite widespread travel disruption in parts of the UK through this week," he added.
"All parts of the UK will see some very strong winds at times.
"It’s Scotland and the North’s turn on Wednesday and into Thursday, and then it’s probably going to be the southern parts of England and Wales that will see the very strongest winds on Friday."
The latest weather warnings come three weeks after Storm Malik (January 29) and Storm Corrie (January 30) - with winds of up to 93 mph - which brought trees and powerlines down, resulting in thousands of properties being left without power.
Many are still recovering from Storm Arwen last year, which brought extensive damage and disruption to the North East, and led to three people losing their lives after being hit by fallen trees.
Helplines
Any residents lose power during the storms, this can be reported on the Northern Powergrid website here.
A map showing updated information on current power cuts is available here.
If someone is without power and is vulnerable, call 105.
Additional contact numbers are available for residents with a hearing or speech impairment. Full details are available here.