A POWER cut and school closures followed the snowfall on Wednesday afternoon.

Power was cut off for around half an hour in parts of Malvern Link as a 45mph gust of wind brought with it a wave of snow, which settled in minutes.

A number of schools around the county, including Martley Primary and Longdon St Mary's, near Upton, had to close yesterday (Thursday) due to icy conditions.

However, children at Somers Park Primary School in Malvern used the seasonal weather as an opportunity to don their wellies, grab their sledges and take to the fields.

Weather statistician Frank Hill, from Malvern Link, said that the conditions were not unusual for this time of year.

"The weather has not been exceptional in terms of snowfall," he said. "We had 1-2cm on lower ground and 2-3cm on the Hills. It is fairly typical for winter; very similar amounts of snow fell on January 8 last year.

"What did make conditions worse was the 45mph gust of wind as the snow came through. This could be described as blizzard conditions.

"Problems were also caused because the partially-thawed snow froze in the Arctic winds, leaving ice to form."

There was only one traffic accident attributed to the weather, when a car collided with a lamp-post in Albert Road North yesterday morning.

Police and the fire brigade's hill rescue team were called out to Worcester Beacon early on Wednesday evening following reports that a distress flare was seen, but after a search of the area, nothing was found.

"Conditions didn't make it easy," said a police spokesman.

According to Mr Hill, warmer weather is on the way.

"I don't expect the snow to last very long. Milder, wetter weather will come in over the weekend."