SUFFOLK could be in for its first snowfalls of the winter later this week, weather experts warned today.

SUFFOLK could be in for its first snowfalls of the winter later this week, weather experts warned today.

An icy blast down the North Sea could bring snowfalls anywhere down the east coast, from the north of Scotland to the south east tip of England.

Temperatures are expected to drop dramatically during Wednesday with the possibility of snow showers, and again on Thursday and Friday.

Experts from the government's Met Office do not expect snowfalls to be too significant, although even a light dusting on untreated roads could be dangerous for motorists.

They also do not expect the cold spell to last too long and forecasters predict that milder winds from the west will move in next weekend bringing rain to start the first full working week of 2008.

This could start as snow before the temperatures rise.

But Evening Star weather expert Ken Blowers warned the cold weather could last longer than some experts think.

He said: “There is some cold weather over eastern Europe and Scandinavia and that is moving this way.

“When that comes in, it often tends to hang around a bit. I'm not that confident it will get pushed away by warm westerly winds as quickly as some people seem to think.

“I suspect we could be in for a chilly weekend. There could be some showers in the cold spell but whether they will fall as snow or sleet is not clear and we're not looking at major snowfalls, just a light dusting.”

December has been dryer than average, but overall Mr Blowers said it had been an “unspectacular” month.

He said: “We had a few cold days but nothing exceptional - it really has been a pretty unexciting month so far as the weather is concerned.”

N Is Suffolk ready for a cold snap? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk