WHITE OUT: Pedestrians battle along Church Street, Cromer, this morning in the teeth of a blizzard whipped up by a biting easterly wind.

Snow storms, biting winds and floods continued to disrupt life across Norfolk and Suffolk yesterday with the weather expected to stay cold until Thursday.

The Siberian blast which has brought the bitterly cold weather to England is a far cry from this time last year, when drought warnings were in place.

Last March Anglian Water was preparing to introduce a hosepipe ban, while farmers were getting set for possible watering restrictions to cope with the region’s worst drought since 1921.

This month, promises of spring have been replaced by a return to winter.

Snow showers fell throughout the day yesterday and will continue today.

Chris Bell, a forecaster at UEA-based Weatherquest, said the weather was set to stay cold until at least Thursday or Friday.

Temperatures will not get above 3C before reaching 7C or 8C at the weekend.

Mr Bell said snow showers could be expected across most of Norfolk, particularly in northern and eastern parts, lasting about 15 to 30 minutes before stopping.

He said: “It’s not out of the ordinary to get snow during March and unfortunately it’s (the cold weather) going to last a little longer.”

With more snow expected this week, the East of England Ambulance Service Trust has warned people to take care in icy conditions.

Diane Chan, assistant general manager in Norfolk for EEAST said: “It’s important that people only go out when absolutely necessary during cold spells, but if you do have to travel please wear sensible footwear and wrap up warm.

“If you come across someone that has fallen please try to keep them warm and bear in mind that we do prioritise our calls if it is not life-threatening.”

Alongside the cold weather, floods have made driving tricky.

Flood warnings have been lifted for the River Tas around Stoke Holy Cross but last night warnings were still in place for the River Waveney from Bungay to Ellingham.

The Environment Agency also had flood alerts in place last night for the River Yare from Marlingford to Trowse, the Little Ouse and River Thet at Thetford and Brandon and the River Bure and Spixworth Beck.