Issued: 0530hrs Thursday 22nd March 2007
Duty forecaster: Simon Keeling

Very unsettled in the east with rain and showers, drier to the west

Today
Mainly fair conditions through Portugal and Spain, with the best of the weather through southern parts of France and Portugal. A few showers affecting eastern coasts of Spain, with heavier showers, some of them wintry through the Balearics, windy in the western Mediterranean too.
Low pressure will be bringing very unsettled weather to much of southern Italy with heavy showers here at times. The heavy showers affecting the former Yugoslavia and parts of Greece. More persistent rain through southern Greece and Crete, this extending into northern Turkey.
Further north France will have sunny spells and just a few showers here and there. Breezy through the Low Countries and Germany with rain or showers, some of them heavy. There will be rain through Denmark too, this spreading through northern Poland, southern Sweden and the Baltic States.
Western parts of Norway will have a band of showery, mainly light rain. Eastern Norway should be drier with sunny spells, and the dry, sunny weather extends into Sweden and the north of Finland too.

Friday
Some cloud and rain through the east of Great Britain, the rain also into the Low Countries, eastern France and the west of Germany. Western and southern parts of France will be brighter with a few showers here and there, the heaviest in the west.
Heavier showers moving onto the northern coasts of Spain, a few pushing into inland parts of Spain and Portugal. Towards the south of Iberia it should be dry with more spells of sunshine to come. Less showers for the Balearics, but feeling cold here.
Sunshine and showers through Italy, a few of them heavy. The heavy showers also through the former Yugoslavia and into Greece as well. Further showers for Crete, with further heavy showers in the Aegean. More persistent rain in Turkey, this moving into Cyprus and Israel as well.
A very windy day through Bulgaria and Romania with gales in places. Windy with periods of rain through the Ukraine, Belarus and Poland.