BLIZZARDS, ice and dangerous driving conditions had been forecast for much of Suffolk today.But the county woke up to little more than sleet and grey skies.

BLIZZARDS, ice and dangerous driving conditions had been forecast for much of Suffolk today.

But the county woke up to little more than sleet and grey skies.

After forecasters had told us to expect the wintry downfalls, there has been confusion over just what is coming next.

While many motorists were gridlocked for hours in yesterday's traffic and youngster spent the day sledging, today painted a very different picture.

A Met Office spokesman today said Ipswich and most of Suffolk had escaped any harsh snowfall overnight because of its low-lying position and closeness to the sea.

He said: "Overnight the temperatures have stayed above freezing, which means that anything that has fallen overnight has been a mix of rain and snow, the rain has meant most of it has washed it into the ground.

"The difficulty with snow is that it's a tricky thing to forecast, because when it is falling it can lower temperatures that had been above, to below freezing."

Warm winds from the sea protected much of the area from any particular snowfalls, he added.

The weather caught out rail bosses who prepared last night for heavy snowfalls and decided to run an emergency service on the main line to London today.

Peter Meades from rail operator 'one' said: "Last night everyone was saying things were going to be very bad and we knew if that was the case we would have problems, especially for our train crews to get to work in the morning.

"In the event things were nowhere near as bad as it had been forecast and we had a meeting this morning to decide to run a normal service from mid-morning."

Gritters were prepared for the anticipated ice on the roads and teams made two trips around Suffolk overnight.

And although more snow is predicted for today, motorists should escape the worst of the icy conditions that have been seen elsewhere.

The spokesman added: "We have got a more persistent line coming towards Suffolk.

"It will bring more persistent snow and will tend to be longer than we have seen.

"It won't be anywhere near as bad as has been thought because of the additional warmth in the air."

Met Office predictions suggested there would be some heavy snowfalls throughout the morning today and the afternoon was expected to be clearer and brighter – but temperatures could plummet to as low as minus two tonight.

Is Suffolk prepared for heavy snow? Write in to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

WEBLINK: www.metoffice.gov.uk