Issued: 0530hrs Friday 18th July 2008
Duty forecaster: John Ejdowski

Temperatures over 40C for south west Iberia

Today
A cloudy day across the United Kingdom with outbreaks of rain. For the Low Countries expect occasional showers with morning rain across Germany also turning to showers in the afternoon as it brightens up. Some heavy showers today across the Netherlands into Denmark and Sweden with more persistent rain likely across Norway and parts of Finland. Largely fine and dry across Poland today but plenty of showers, many heavy are expected across the Alpine Region, northern Italy and across the Czech Republic into Belarus and the Ukraine.
Dry with sunny spells across the Baltic States today. Very hot across Iberia and dry and sunny too. The fine, sunny weather will extend across the Balearics into southern Italy, Greece, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia into Hungary and Bulgaria. Highs will be around 22C in both London and Brussels, 24C for Paris, 37C for Madrid, 28C in Rome, 34C in Bucharest, 32C in Athens, 23C in Warsaw and 20C for Stockholm.

Saturday
A rather windy day across northern Europe today. Rain clears to showers across the United Kingdom. An area of heavier rain will stretch from Norway and Sweden into Denmark, Holland, the Low Counties into Germany and northeast France. The rest of France will be sunny and dry. A number of mainly light showers will affect Finland, The Baltic States and Poland but some sunshine to come here as well. Quite an unsettled day for western Russia into Belarus and Romania with heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms.
The hot weather persists across Portugal and Spain. Warm and sunny as well across the Balearics into Italy, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Bulgaria into Greece and Turkey as well.