In his monthly review weatherman KEN BLOWERS looks back to the driest autumn since 1989 - and a November that saw a notable storm surge that nearly caused disaster.

In his monthly review weatherman KEN BLOWERS looks back to the driest autumn since 1989 - and a November that saw a notable storm surge that nearly caused disaster.

MOST places in East Anglia have recorded the driest autumn for 18 years - and November was the fourth consecutive month with rainfall below the long-term average.

Anticyclones controlled the weather for the first week and north-westerly winds remained a notable feature of the month.

Temperatures were above average on 14 days and the highest temperatures were recorded on November 1 with a maximum of 61F(16C) at Ipswich.

The major event of the month was the storm surge generated by north-westerly gales sweeping down the North Sea.

On November 9 a deep depression - the remains of Hurricane Noel - caused winds of more than 80 mph in the North Sea and the highest tides since the disastrous flood of 1953 when 300 people lost their lives along the east coast.

Fortunately the surge was eight inches below the predicted level but still six feet above normal and East Anglia's coast was therefore saved from a major disaster.

The last two weeks of the month were rather cold and daytime temperatures were restricted to 41F(5C) on November 24.

The first hard frost of the season occurred on the morning of November 16 in the calm conditions of an anticyclone positioned over southern England.

Air temperatures at the Evening Star weather station in Ipswich fell to 23F(minus 5C) and most delicate plants were blackened.

Heaviest rain of the month was on November 20 after a dull and wet day. More than half an inch of rain fell over a wide area and at Ipswich the total was 0.58 of an inch.

Rainfall totals for November were: Ipswich 1.84 inches, Wattisham Airfield 1.44 in, Colchester 1.40 in, Felixstowe 1.39 in and Belstead Hall 1.32 in.

November sunshine was near the long-term average in Suffolk. Wattisham measured 77.6 hours using an electronic radiation sensor.

NOVEMBER AVERAGES and EXTREMES

Maximum day temperature 48F

Minimum night temperature 37F

Air frosts 5

Ground frosts 19

Rainfall (1903 to 2006) 2.48 inches

Days with rain 16

Duration of rainfall 47 hours

Average sunshine 71 hours

Maximum possible daily sunshine 8.8 hours

Midday sun altitude above horizon (Nov 15) 20 degrees

Barometric pressure (reduced to mean sea level) 1012 millibars

North Sea temperature 48F

Highest day maximum temperature 64F on Nov 2 1969

Lowest day maximum temperature 31F on Nov 15 1965

Coldest night temperature 20F on Nov 30 1964

Highest wind speed in gusts 72 mph on Nov 13 1972