FORECASTERS say the cold weather which has left North and East Yorkshire shivering in mid-July will continue.

Temperatures plunged to a maximum of 16C or 61F yesterday and today, well down on the average for this time of year.

Usually, the region would see temperatures of 19C to 20C or 66F to 68F in July.

Yesterday, Scarborough was the wettest place in Britain. It got more than half its average rainfall for the whole month - 1.14 inches.

The resort would usually expect 2.2 inches for the whole of July.

PA weather forecaster Neil Talboys said things were feeling even colder because the wind was coming from the north and north west.

He said temperatures might get up to 18C tomorrow and Thursday, but things would feel cooler again by the weekend with more north and north-west winds.

He could not give any forecast beyond then.

The rain is expected to tail off, with nothing compared to yesterday's rainfall in Scarborough.

The unexpected cold snap in July comes after months of unusual weather which has had North and East Yorkshire folk not knowing whether to reach for the shorts or their scarves.

Back in March, hedgehogs were reported to be coming out of hibernation a month early because the winter temperatures had warmed up by one degree centigrade, but by April, there was plenty of wind and snow, as experienced by visitors to York's first drive-in cinema at Monks Cross.

By the end of May, things had got even wetter, with half the month's rainfall coming down in East Yorkshire over the Spring Bank holiday weekend. One Evening Press reader managed to capture an image of a tornado on film.

The beginning of June saw the worst floods in York for six years, but two weeks later the region basked in a heatwave seeing temperatures soar into the 80s.

North Yorkshire police said they had reports of three trees being blown over yesterday.

PICTURE: ABOVE: A holidaymaker braves the wind and rain at Scarbrorough's North Bay. The East Coast resort was the wettest place in the country yesterday. It got more than half its average rainfall for the whole month - 1.14 inches. BELOW: Firefighters and police deal with a large branch which blew off a tree in Huntington Road, York, due to high winds. The road was partially blocked the road for a time