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 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 60-100cm above 1,000 metres in the Swiss Alps. The centre of the low-pressure system became established in the Adriatic Sea through Thursday and brought sharp and thundery showers, lashings of rain, sleet and hill snow and strong winds through the day to the surrounding countries. Croatia was one of the more adversely affected countries in the region where 15-50cm of widespread heavy snowfall in the Gospić region was forecast, alongside the risk of