Whilst Sydney was baking in record-breaking heat, heavy snow has been shutting down roads and schools in the parts of the UK.

Snow swept across Wales and south-west England early on Friday before ending up in central and southern England later in the day, affecting cities like Manchester, Sheffield and London.

In fact, London saw trains even more packed than usual.  Flights at Heathrow and Gatwick were put at risk by the strong winter conditions.  Over 70 flights were cancelled at Heathrow.

The storm prompted UK’s government forecaster Met Office to issue a rare red warning for the south-eastern side of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains.  In a statement released by MetOffice, they said “Many parts of the Red Warning area are likely to have 20-30 cm of snow with strong south easterly winds causing blizzards, severe drifting of lying snow and thus severe disruption. The public should avoid all non-essential journeys.”

Conditions are expected to improve tomorrow.

By Howard Joseph, WeatherWatch.co.nz