It may have rained more often than every other day this month, but Suffolk still remains the driest place in the country.

SUFFOLK: It may have rained more often than every other day this month, but Suffolk still remains the driest place in the country.

While people in the north-west have endured a heartbreaking deluge which has wrecked lives and homes, this area has had just over half-an-inch more than the November average - and remains two-and-a-half inches below the average yearly rainfall.

The massive Alton Water reservoir near Ipswich is actually emptier than it was two months ago.

Anglian Water officials are hoping the 400-acre reservoir will recover its levels through winter rains over the next three months.

A spokeswoman said it was currently 69 per cent full - compared with 79pc in September and 92pc back in April.

“We still have the winter months to come but it does illustrate why people need to be careful with water, especially in this part of the country, which is a very dry area,” she said.

Alton Water provides water for 200,000 households and businesses - seven million gallons a day.

Experts say Suffolk is “as dry as Jerusalem” and Evening Star weatherman Ken Blowers said even what many people think of as having been a wet month does not to dispel this, despite parched lawns having recovered their normal green state

“It has rained 16 days in November so far and we have had 3.13 inches of rain - the 60-year average for November is 2.48 inches,” he said.

“In Cumbria, they had 12 inches in 24 hours, which is equivalent to six months rainfall in Suffolk.”

Mr Blowers said most months this year had seen below average rainfall - July was the exception - with August, September and October being particularly dry.

The weather is set to get colder at the weekend with temperatures dropping to around 7C. There could even be overnight frost on Sunday and Monday.

How has the weather affected you? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk