Issued: 0530hrs Friday 27th March 2009
Duty forecaster: Simon Keeling
A mixed few days ahead for most of Europe, althoufh fine today through Iberia
Friday
A fair day extending through Spain and Portugal bringing dry weather and lots of sunshine and warm weather here. The sunshine affects the Balearic Islands and Italy too. This sunshine extends to Greece and the west of Turkey as well. Crete shuld have a fine day with some sunshine, but cehtral and eastern parts of Turkey and Cyprus are likely to be staying more unsettled with some rain here.
A band of cloud and showery rain extends through southern Italy and Switzerland and this sweeps northeastwards through Austria and into the east of Poland where it may be heavy at times. For the north haf of France the weather will be cooler and breezy with sunny spells and a scattering of showers. Further showers over the Low Countries and the north of Germany. The heavier showers affecting Denmark too with hail and thunderstorms here.
For southern Sweden and the south of Norway there will be some cloud and periods of rain, some of them heavy. For central and northern parts of Norway and Sweden the weather will be dry here with sunny spells. Dry weather and some sunshie for Finland, with rain and sleet arriving in the baltic States after a bright start here.
Saturday
A change in the weather for Saturday over the western Mediterranean. Low pressure is going to be developing and this will bring an area of cloud and showers and the chance of more persistent periods of rain through the Balearics and into central and eastern parts of Spain. Portugal will have a few showers too, and it will be windy here. Cloud increases through Corsica and Sardinia as well as the southern half of Italy. Greece should have a fine day with sunshine, and this sunshine affecting Crete and much of Turkey.
For southern France there could be cloud and some patchy rain. The cloud and rain spreading through Switzerland and into Austria and Hungary, this extending north towards Poland. Central areas should be dry with sunny spells. To the north there will be cloud and some showers or patchy rain, and this then spreading through the Low Countries. A showery day for Germany with some heavy showers here and there, these spreading to western Poland. Further heavy showers in Denmark.
A bright day for the Baltic States with some showers here. Thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain affect Finland, and this will be extending to central and northern parts of Sweden. For Norway the weather will be cloudier and damp with rain to the south and west.