WHAT a difference a week makes!Suffolk is currently enjoying some of the mildest conditions since the end of last year - a big change from last week when many parts of the county were flooded following torrential rain.

anthony.bond@eadt.co.uk

WHAT a difference a week makes!

Suffolk is currently enjoying some of the mildest conditions since the end of last year - compared to the same time last week when many parts of the county were flooded following torrential rain.

A week ago the highest temperature recorded was 4C (39.2F) but yesterdayin Suffolk the mercury reached 11C (51.8F).

Weatherman Ken Blowers said: “Yesterday was the mildest day since December 22.

“It was caused by a warm air stream coming all the way up from the Azores and that brought the temperature up very many degrees from last week.

“It has been a complete change in the weather. Last week we had very cold easterly winds from the continent and that was why it was so cold - in one day we had 1.12 inches of rain.”

Last Friday marked the end of a 29-day cold spell - the longest in 18 years.

The mild weather is expected to continue for another 24 hours before the temperature starts to slowly fall to about 8C (46.4F).

By the end of the week it is expected that very unsettled weather will return with cloud and rain.

This time last week many parts of Suffolk and Essex were flooded following almost a month's worth of rainfall in 24 hours. This resulted in hazardous driving conditions and some people had to be evacuated from their homes.

The week before that heavy snow swept across the region resulting in more than 130 schools closing in Suffolk and 400 in Essex. Nationwide it was the worst snowfall to hit the country in 18 years, with London's transport network badly affected.

Have you been affected by the differing weather conditions? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.