The summer storm of August 1980 which turned Sunderland’s skies black

Torrential rain hit the North East at the start of this week but it was nothing like the rain we saw 40 years ago.

Wearside was drying out after one of the wettest half hours in its history back in 1980.

Windscreen wipers couldn't cope and floods hit the A19

Darkness fell at 4pm as the area was given a soaking by a flash flood storm, which reduced traffic to a snail’s pace, turned fields into mudbaths, and had householders watching anxiously as rivers of rainwater threatened their homes.

Read more: How Sunderland looked in 1982

The flash flood hit drivers of some cars whose windscreen wipers were unable to cope with the power of the rain.

Grindon Village was flooded

Queues developed on the A19 north of Sunderland’s Hylton Bridge as traffic was forced to move cautiously by the depth of the floods.

Hundreds of motorists broke down when their electrical systems cut out after hitting puddles.

Drains flooded in Grindon Village, and householders stood by to ward off swirling water.

Houghton's subways were blocked for two days.

Hundreds of telephone lines damaged

Post Office engineers were working at the Hylton exchange to repair hundreds of telephone lines.

Durham Road shops were forced to close and North Road was blocked off after underground drains collapsed.

If you want more reminders of 1980, it was the year when a free sauna got Wearside sportsmen hot under the collar.

Meanwhile, Crowtree was sweltering

The sauna is actually the men’s changing rooms on the bottom floor of the Crowtree Leisure Centre.

But they were too small to cope with the numbers of men who streamed in after playing football, squash, badminton and other sports.

The steam from the showers was not being extracted properly, turning the changing rooms into a crammed Turkish baths.

Top of the league

In sport, Sunderland got off to a flying start on their return to the First Division. A 3-1 win over Everton at Roker Park, following on from an away win at Manchester City, put them top of the league on four points after two games.

Sunderland’s Dispensary for Sick Animals treated 16,737 animals last year at a cost of £37,000. It received £7,000 in funding and the £30,000 gap was bridged with money from head office and legacies.

Do you remember the summer flash storms of 1980 or have you seen one which was worse? Email [email protected]