Issued: 0530hrs Wednesday 31st January 2007
Duty forecaster: Simon Keeling

Low pressure brings more showers and rain to Spain, whilst the east stays cold and wintry

Today
Further periods of rain and showers affecting eastern and northern coasts of Spain through today. Southern coasts should become drier, and Portugal should be brighter and drier too. The rain extending into the south of France, where it could be heavy at times, with more rain too in the Balearics. Over Italy and Switzerland it will be a dry day with sunny spells, with this dry weather extending through the former Yugoslavia, Greece and most of Turkey.
High pressure bringing a drier day through most of France, Ireland and the eastern UK, as will be the Low Countries and much of Germany.
A vigorous area of low pressure over southern Sweden will bring strong winds and rain to Denmark and southern Sweden, this turning to sleet through western Poland. For eastern Poland there will be snow, with further snow in the Baltic States, western Belarus and the west of Ukraine.
Western coasts of Norway will have more wintry showers, whilst eastern Norway should be dry. Sweden and Finland may have an odd snow showers, but generally will be dry although chilly.

Thursday
Pressure builds to the west through Thursday. Some patchy drizzle over the north of Spain and western parts of the UK. The south of France may also have some residual showers, with a showery burst of rain affecting southwestern Italy. For the bulk of the UK, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy are likely to be dry with broken cloud and sunny spells.
Rain turning to snow inland of the former Yugoslavia, this extending into Romania and Bulgaria. Greece could have an odd shower in the west, whilst Turkey stays dry with sunny spells.
Germany and the Low Countries should be dry, although there could be some drizzle on the coasts. Most of Inland Germany will be dry, although southern Germany and the Alps will have more cloud and a few wintry outbreaks. Rain, sleet and snow clearing from Poland and Belarus, although the snow still falling heavily in the Ukraine.
Western parts of Norway will have cloud and rain, some of it heavy, but eastern parts of Norway should be drier. For much of Sweden and Finland the day will be dry, and temperatures generally below freezing.