Issued: 0530hrs Saturday 30th March 2007
Duty forecaster: John Ejdowski

Heavy showers and thunderstorms for Spain & France. Settled and dry further east

Today
Areas of high pressure over the United Kingdom and Scandinavia will a lot of fine dry weather to northern and eastern parts of Europe today. A cold morning across Norway, Finland and Sweden with a frosty start to the day. Otherwise it's dry with a good deal of sunshine to come. This fine weather will extend eastward across northern parts of Germany into the Baltic States and Poland. Colder across Russia with sleet showers likely for Moscow.
An area of more persistent rain will affect southern Germany with rain and thunderstorms forecast for much of France, Portugal and Spain. Paris could see some early sleet and snow for a time. A heavy pulse of thundery rain will move in across southern France. Across the Low Countries the morning looks dry with sunny spells but showers are forecast to develop for the afternoon, most light. Outbreaks of snow are likely over the Alps today wit an area of rain across the Czech Republic into Hungary, Croatia and Serbia into western Greece. Another area of thundery rain will spread into Turkey during the day. Dry and sunny for Italy.

Sunday
Low pressure centred over Spain will keep the spell of disturbed weather going across western Europe. Further heavy showers, rain and thunderstorms are forecast for Iberia, western and southern parts of France giving locally torrential downpours of rain. Rather windy here as well.
The area of high pressure will maintain across northern and eastern parts of Europe. A large area of fair, dry weather will stretch from the United Kingdom into eastern France, Benelux, Germany, The Baltic Region, Poland, Russia and into much of Scandinavia though rain will move into northern Norway.
Apart from a few showers over the Alps, fine and sunny too for Italy, into the Czech Republic, Rumania and Bulgaria with sunny spells and one or two showers across Greece. More heavy showers and thunderstorms will affect Turkey and Cyprus.