Gales set to return at weekend

The dark seas battered Southwold's coast

IT is one of Suffolk's most genteel seaside resorts.

But as these dramatic pictures show, Southwold was just one of many places in the county which was battered by ferocious winds yesterday.

The region woke to winds of almost 50mph as other parts of the country were affected with severe weather.

Emma Sharples, a forecaster with Weatherquest, said the strongest winds in Suffolk reached 47mph but said the worst was over until the weekend.

The windy weather and rain is set to return this weekend

“That is the strongest winds out of the way for now,” she said.

Talking about today, she said: “We will see more brightness coming through and perhaps more sunshine and it should be dry as well. It will still be quite windy.

“On Friday there will be early rain and then things should brighten up in the afternoon with some sunshine and it will not be quite so windy.”

However, Mrs Sharples warned that strong winds similar to yesterdaycould return overnight on Saturday into Sunday.

Winds reached almost 50mph in Suffolk yesterday

“As we go through the night of Saturday into Sunday that could be quite windy and that is perhaps an area of concern,” she said.

Strong winds last weekend resulted in a number of dramatic incidents across the region.

Two people were a split second from tragedy when a mini-tornado sent a large tree crashing down into the path of their car in Lowestoft on Saturday morning.

The occupants escaped without serious injury. In other parts of the county, roof tiles were ripped off, walls were blown over and trees damaged.

Last nightthe Met Office warned that floods and violent storms will continue to lash parts of Britain for the next day and a half.

The bad weather will affect major roads in parts of the North East and Yorkshire.

The Environment Agency had 45 flood warnings in place across the UK at one point yesterday, with the majority in northern England. Highways were closed and homes at risk in towns across Lancashire, especially in areas near to the River Irwell and River Calder.