WEATHER: Wet spell eases drought worries

A warm autumn and a wet November end this weekend, with winter officially beginning on Monday 1 December.

The Meteorological Office said temperatures will drop sharply over most of Britain next week, with sharp frosts and the likelihood of snow showers in the East and on higher ground. Rainfall this month in England and Wales will be about 33 per cent above the long-term average said the Met Office; that will go some way towards ending the drought and raising extremely low water tables. It is also expected to be the fourth warmest November this century. The three autumn months which are just ending are the second warmest in nearly 20 years - 1995 was warmer still.

- Nicholas Schoon, Environment Correspondent