Suffolk escaped relatively unscathed during the latest bout of strong winds and heavy rain, which swept across the county in the early hours of this morning.

But forecasters warned that we are not out of the woods yet, with gusts of up to 50mph and further heavy rain due overnight on Sunday.

This morning, the Orwell Bridge was closed in both directions due to the gales, and diversions were put in place.

Meanwhile rail operator Greater Anglia cancelled trains at short notice due to the blustery conditions.

However, the adverse weather failed to cause damage on a par with Monday night’s storms, which left 3,380 homes without power on Christmas Eve.

According to Phil Garner, forecaster at Norwich based Weatherquest, the 11mm rainfall predicted for yesterday morning fell short with up to 7mm recorded in parts of the Suffolk overnight.

But the cumulative rainfall over the past few weeks has caused flooding on Sudbury’s famous water meadows.

Mr Garner, told the EADT: “We still saw winds gusting up to 55mph this morning, but with the flooding to the south and strong winds affecting other parts of the UK, we got off relatively lightly.

“We haven’t experienced much in the way of flooding and the breezy conditions have actually helped to dry the roads out.

“However, we are due for some more strong winds of up to 50mph on Sunday night and if people are travelling on Monday morning, the weather could cause a bit of travel disruption.

“More strong winds are forecast for Tuesday and the weather for the rest of next week will be changeable and breezy with showers.”

According to a UK Power Networks spokeswoman, electricity had been restored to all homes in Suffolk by the end of Christmas day. She told the EADT: “Everything is now back to normal and we have no widespread problems in the county.”