OCTOBER draws to a close today and with it goes a brief but unusually pleasant spell of clement weather in Suffolk.

OCTOBER draws to a close today and with it goes a brief but unusually pleasant spell of clement weather in Suffolk.

Summer clothes briefly returned this week but temperatures will feel decidedly cooler in the coming days with the last of the warm air disappearing over the horizon this weekend.

Cloud is expected to obscure any sunshine next week, and thermometers will fall a few degrees, as the Indian summer we have enjoyed during one of the warmest Octobers on record vanishes as promptly as it arrived.

Weather experts put the balmy start to autumn down to warm air coming across France and Spain from West Africa and raising the temperature in the south east corner of the country.

This week temperatures reached 18C, compared to last October's -4C chill, which brought snow and sleet showers and caused transport chaos.

Rainfall failed to reach average for the month but lawns appeared greener because the UK has seen so few showers since February.

The advice from forecasters is to enjoy the last days of warmth before temperatures of 9C kick in at the beginning of next week.