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A woman looks at snow covered cars Friday, Jan. 18, 2013 near Bath, England. Heavy snow is bringing widespread disruption to many parts of the U.K.
Strong winds and snow swept Britain on Friday, disrupting travel and closing thousands of schools.
The snow made its way eastward across Wales and south-west England before spreading across central and southern England later in the day.
Commuters in London rushed to reach their offices as snow started to fall over the capital. Trains were even more packed than usual as the number of journeys was reduced on some lines in anticipation of bad weather.
Travelers heading to Heathrow and Gatwick airports were urged to check their flights were still running as around 70 flights were cancelled at Heathrow.
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Temperatures across Britain are expected to drop to 23 with 10 inches of snow forecast for high ground.
Andy Page, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: "The snow is expected to be heaviest during Friday morning across Wales and the southern half of England.
"Widespread disruption to travel and other services is likely. All of us should consider changing our plans and avoiding dangerous areas.
"Clearly there is the potential for significant disruption to peoples plans. We should follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities to help keep ourselves, our families and our communities safe in light of the forecast," Page said.
Snow was expected to fall for 12 hours, threatening chaos for road and rail commuters. Eurostar cancelled some trains to and from Brussels.
The Met Office issued a rare red warning for the southeastern side of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains, which means all non-essential travel should be avoided.
The weather is likely to be less severe over the weekend but further outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow are possible in places, forecasters said.
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Hartselle, Alabama
Heavy snow falls in Hartselle, Ala., causing many traffic problems and some fun for children Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Motorist James Burton stands in front of his car stranded on US Highway 31 on Hartselle Mountain after the stretch of highway became to slick for many motorists to get up the hill. (AP Photo/The Decatur Daily, Gary Cosby Jr.)
