THIS weekend's Bank Holiday clouds could have a silver lining with a scorching summer to come, it was claimed today.

Rainfall over the weekend in some parts of East Yorkshire was more than half the normal average for the whole of May, according to PA weather forecasters.

But veteran North Yorkshire weather forecaster Bill Foggitt today said the month's mixed offering of sunshine and showers would herald a long hot and dry summer.

Mr Foggitt, from Thirsk, said: "It looks as if it's going to be a dry summer. We've had above-average rain up to now, and it always balances out. So it will be a dry summer and a hot summer."

Jason Cullen, from AA Roadwatch, said the Bank Holiday rain had certainly not deterred people from making their way to the coast.

He said: "The A64 between York and Scarborough was especially busy. From around midday things got very busy, especially the stretch between Malton and Pickering where there were queues of up to three-and-a-half miles."

He said the A169 had also been busy, although the roads to Bridlington were less packed.

Bonnie Purchon, president of the Scarborough Hotels Association, said: "We had no problems with the weather. We had some showers yesterday but everybody's been quite happy with the visitors we've had and we've definitely had a comfortable weekend."

And Duncan Peake, agent at Castle Howard, said: "We had around 2,500 people here. The weather deteriorated in the afternoon but by that time most people had arrived. If we'd had a more settled weekend, no doubt the numbers would have been higher, but we certainly didn't have a washout."

In York, the shopping streets were packed and organisers of the York Live Music Festival 2000 saw hundreds of people enjoying the music being performed around the city in outdoor venues including the Museum Gardens and Parliament Street.

Co-organiser Taraneh Meen said: "We had a good weekend and the weather didn't make any difference. Rain doesn't stop rock 'n' roll. We were really pleased."

Today PA weather forecaster Sarah Morley said the forecast was for more wind and rain this week, with an improvement on the horizon on Saturday, and a dry weekend predicted.