Issued: 0530hrs Saturday 24th February 2007
Duty forecaster: Simon Keeling
Rain or showers for the north west, pressure building to the south
Today
With low pressure centred to the west of Ireland, much of the UK and Ireland will be unsettled with rain or showers. More persistent showers will be affecting France, especially the west where the showers may merge to longer spells of rain. Southern coasts of France should be dry. Further showers for Germany and the Low Countries, mainly in the afternoon, and again these could be heavy. Showers also through the Alps, these tending to be in the northern and western Alps most of all.
Most of Spain and Portugal should be dry with sunny spells, although there will be a scattering of showers in the north of both countries. More sunshine across the Balearics, with generally dry weather in northern Italy. Central and southern parts of Italy will have a showers.
A block of cold air ion the far east of Europe is trying to make progress westwards. For today the cold air will be trapped through central and eastern Scandinavia, the east of Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and the west of Russia. Here temperatures are below freezing and it will b fairly breezy too.
Snow will be affecting parts of Denmark and southwest Norway.
Sunday
Low pressure in the North Sea will be bringing more unsettled weather for most of northern Europe. There will be showers in the UK and Ireland, with these extending through France, where some of the showers are going to be heavy at times.
Into central Europe there will be further showers and rain, with bands of showers passing across the Low Countries and Germany, with these reaching Switzerland and Hungary. The showers will be falling as snow in the Alps. Rain will be affecting Denmark, although this turning to snow in southern Norway. There could be some sleet or snow in the west of Poland too.
Further south much of Portugal and Spain should be dry, although a few showers could affect central parts of Spain and Andorra. Showers could push into the Balearics in the afternoon, these turning heavy in southern France. Showers for the north of Italy, but southern Italy should be staying dry. A few showers to come across the former Yugoslavia and western Greece, whilst the east of Greece and Turkey will be chilly but mainly dry. Scattered showers in Cyprus and Israel.