Issued: 0530hrs Saturday 27th January 2007
Duty forecaster: Simon Keeling

Unsettled in the east, drier west

Today
A plunge of cold air bringing snow showers to the coasts of Norway and plunging down into Germany, Poland, the Baltic States, Austria, Switzerland and into the west of Bulgaria. Drizzle weather for the Low Countries and eastern parts of France.
For western France and most of northern Spain and Portugal the day should be dry with broken cloud and some sunny spells, although probably feeling chilly in central France with some mist and fog patches. Over southern Spain there is the threat of some showery rain and this could be heavy at times.
Italy should be largely dry, although a few showers can't be ruled out along eastern coasts. Greece will be mainly dry too, although chilly here with some showers in the Aegean; these showers affecting western Turkey too.

Sunday
The southern coasts of Spain again be damp through Sunday with outbreaks of showery rain, this extending along the Algarve and into the Balearics. Most of the rest of Spain and Portugal should be dry though with some winter sunshine here. France too should be largely dry although there will be some cloud and drizzle over the east. For Italy the day should be fine and dry with sunny spells with similar weather for most of the former Yugoslavia and Greece. However, showers, some of them wintry affecting the west and north of Turkey.
Further north an area of gale force winds and heavy rain will pass through much of Norway, Denmark, southern Sweden and into Germany, Poland, Austria and Bratislava, together with Poland. The rain readily turning to heavy snow inland Norway and Sweden as well as Poland.
For more northern areas of Norway snow showers are likely, whilst most of Sweden will be cold but dry. Chilly too across Finland with an occasionally snow flurry here.