POURING rain, thunder and grey skies swept into Suffolk today as the county awoke to a soaking.The wet weather made its way into East Anglia overnight after drenching France and much of the south east of England.

POURING rain, thunder and grey skies swept into Suffolk today as the county awoke to a soaking.

The wet weather made its way into East Anglia overnight after drenching France and much of the south east of England.

Parts of Suffolk were warned to expect up to an inch of rainfall over the course of the day.

But the good news was the dark clouds were forecast to have cleared by the end of the day, paving the way for a brighter weekend.

Evening Star weatherman Ken Blowers said the wretched weather meant the British summer had yet to properly begin.

He said: “There is a very changeable weather pattern at the moment.

“In about three weeks' time, the evenings will begin to pull in again, but it doesn't yet feel as though we have had any good weather, apart from in April which was the sunniest and driest ever.

“But that was followed by the wettest May for 100 years.”

Temperatures were not expected to exceed 16C/61F today, but the outlook is much better tomorrow .

Mr Blowers said: “The weekend will be quite warm, up to 22C/72F with sunny spells and a few showers.”

The average temperature for this time of year is about 19C/66F.

More rain is forecast for Monday, although the showers should be replaced with blue skies on Tuesday.

Police today advised motorists to exercise caution on the county's roads.

A spokesman said: “We have had several reports of minor shunts today.

“There has been lots of rain across the county and we would ask drivers to take care, use their headlights and adjust their driving to the conditions.”

Meanwhile, Scottish rockers Travis were still due to perform at Thetford Forest, despite the downpours.

Umbrellas will not be allowed, but gig-goers will be provided with waterproofs.