Heavy snow fell in parts of Britain on Tuesday as it emerged March was the warmest for more than 50 years.
The recent warm weather was consigned to history as up to 20cm (8in) of snow fell in some parts of Scotland and heavy showers hit the south-east and Midlands.
The Met Office put severe weather warnings in place for all of Scotland with ice expected to form on the roads as temperatures could plunge as low as about -8C (18F) overnight.
âBe awareâ warnings were also in place for parts of northern England, Yorkshire, Wales and the Midlands as an arctic weather front moved south with up to 5cm (2in) of snow likely to fall.
The cold snap started on the same day that the Met Office revealed March was the third warmest on record and the warmest since 1957.
The monthly average temperature was 7.7C (46F), while it was also the fifth driest March on record. The clearest example of the sudden change in conditions was seen in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire.
Just a week ago, the village saw shade temperatures rise to 23.6C (74.5F), a new high in Scotland for the month.
On Tuesday, its residents awoke to temperatures struggling to get above zero, blizzards and snow more than 15cm (6in) deep.
Overnight temperatures in London could fall to just 1C (33.8F) and 2C (35.6F) tonight and tomorrow with rain, sunshine and cloudy conditions during the day.
It will be the same pattern in Birmingham and Bristol with similar overnight lows in Brighton and Bournemouth.
Rain and sleet will fall tomorrow night in the south with more heavy rain due right across England on Friday night into Saturday morning.