Weather tracker: cold weather sweeps Europe and cyclone hits Australia

Low pressure brings unsettled conditions to southern Europe, and rain and snow to western and central areas

Southern Europe has been under a variety of severe weather warnings this week owing to widely unsettled conditions driven by an area of low pressure in the region. This area of low pressure - previously a part of the system that brought colder conditions to swathes of the UK earlier this week - moved southwards across Europe through the middle of the week.

In doing so, it brought a cold front across western and central parts of Europe, with spells of rain and hill snow across the Alps on Wednesday, followed by snow showers on a brisk north-westerly wind. By Friday morning, accumulations of 20-40cm were expected above 600 metres, and with 60-100cm above 1,000 metres in the Swiss Alps.