Issued: 0530hrs Wednesday 23rd July 2008
Duty forecaster: John Ejdowski

Mostly settled and staying very warm

Today
Very warm to hot weather and sunny weather will prevail across the United Kingdom, Belgium into France and Spain. High pressure will also keep it settled and sunny across central and southern Germany into Denmark and the Netherlands too.
An area of locally heavy and perhaps thundery rain is expected across Belarus, southern Poland into the former Czech Republic and the far south of Germany and the Alpine Region. Much drier and warmer today across Scandinavia with most places fine and sunny though a few showers will affect western Norway. Fine and dry as well across the Baltic States and northern Poland. Just a few showers across western Russia otherwise settled and dry. Lots of heavy showers and thunderstorms will affect Romania, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia. Warm across Italy and sunny but a few showers are likely in the afternoon in central areas while Greece and Turkey along with Cyprus remain sunny and very warm.
Highs will be around 28C in London, 27C for Brussels, 28C for Paris, 39C for Madrid, 27C in Rome, 26C in Bucharest, 32C in Athens, 23C in Warsaw, 25C in Berlin and 26C for Stockholm.

Thursday
A Hot, summery day across the United Kingdom with a risk of a few showers. Very warm too across France and The Low Counties with long sunny spells. High pressure centred over Scandinavia will give Norway, Sweden and Finland a beautiful, warm summer's day and it's fine and sunny down into Denmark across much of Poland, The Baltic States and Russia. Just a few showers though in southern Poland and the south east of Germany may see some heavier ones. Much of Germany though looks fine and sunny.
Still quite hot across Portugal and Spain with sunny skies but a few thunderstorms will develop over the Pyrenees. Lots of heavy showers with thunderstorms will affect the former Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia and parts of Greece today. Southern Greece into Turkey remains sunny, dry and very warm. Sunny and warm from the Balearics across into Sardinia, Corsica and Italy.