Visit www.weather online.co.UK - the UK's most comprehensive Internet weather - talk live to our forecasters for the latest forecast and weather news. Call 0906 515 0046 (�1.50p/min)

Issued: 0530hrs Friday 6th February 2009
Duty forecaster: Simon Keeling

Heavy periods of rain through the Mediterranean, cold to the north

Friday
Showers over Spain and Portugal, these heavy in the north and west. The showers will be wintry along northern coasts and also falling asm snow over the hills. Drier on eastern and southern coasts with sunny spells here, but also a few showers. Feeling very cold here. Across the south of France there will be cloud and rain, whilst central France will be brighter and drier with some sunny spells. Thicker cloud and showery rain and snow for northern France with sleety rain over the Low Countries. Cloud and sleet or rain over northern Germany too. For central and southern Germany as well as Poland it will be brighter with sunny spells and dry. Fine through Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.
Cloud and heavy periods of rain over Italy, the heaviest of it to the northwest. Greece will be dry with sunny spells. Fine too over western Turkey, whilst to the east there will be some wintry showers, but also some more persistent snow along northern coasts. Fair for Bulgaria and Romania with some sunny spells.
Cloud and showery periods of rain on the Baltic States and Finland, this turning to sleet and snow. More cloud and rain over the north of Sweden, whilst to the south it will be fair with sunny spells. Showers and some outbreaks of rain over Norway, these turning to snow in the north.

Saturday
Cloud and some showery rain over the far west of Portugal. For most of Portugal and Spain there will be dry with sunny spells, the best of them to the south. Sunny spells and wintry showers for the north and west of France, whilst central and southern areas will be cloudier with some outbreaks of rain and sleet. Sunny spells through the Low Countries as a band of cloud and rain spread eastwards through Germany, turning to sleet. Heavy showers over Poland and further showers for Austria and Hungary. Further cloud and some showers too for Switzerland.
Mainly dry over the north of Italy, but for central and southern areas it is going to be cloud and damp. There will be periods of rain here, some of them heavy at times. Further cluod and outbreaks of rain over Greece, most of it light and drizzly. More cloud and drizzle for western Turkey, with some coud and rain in the east. Bulgaria and Romania will be dry with some sunny spells.
Bright over the Baltic States and through Finland where it should be mainly dry. A few showers for southern Sweden with some rain and cloud in the north. Cloud and rain across Denmark and Sweden, this heavy at times.