Freezing fog set to hit North East tonight as Met Office issues further weather warning

The warning covers from 10pm tonight until 11am tomorrow morning in the North East, so will likely hit commuter traffic on Thursday.

Weather warnings had already been issued earlier in the day for snow and ice in the region

The latest alert reads: "Areas of freezing fog will form across England on Wednesday night and be slow to clear on Thursday morning

"What to expect: Slower journey times with delays to bus and train services possible. There is a chance of delays or cancellations to flights.

"Probably some ice on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths. Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces."

What is freezing fog? The Met Office explains:

Freezing fog forms in the same way as normal fog when the land cools overnight under clear skies.

If there are clear skies, the heat radiates back into space leading to cooling at the earth's surface. This results in a reduction of the air's ability to hold moisture which allows water vapour to condense into tiny water droplets eventually leading to the formation of fog.

When fog forms in temperatures that are below freezing, the tiny water droplets in the air remain as liquid. They become supercooled water droplets remaining liquid even though they are below freezing temperature.

This occurs because liquid needs a surface to freeze upon. When droplets from freezing fog freeze onto surfaces, a white deposit of feathery ice crystals is formed. This is referred to as rime; rime is a characteristic of freezing fog and is often seen on vertical surfaces exposed to the wind.