Issued: 0530hrs Sunday 28 December 2014
Duty forecaster: John Ejdowski

Gales, Heavy Showers for Mediterranean, Snow for Spain, Italy

Today
A cold day across much of Europe with sub zero high temperatures from France eastward into Russia. Dry but cold with long sunny spells across Britain into Belgium, northern France, Holland, Germany and Poland. Outbreaks of snow are forecast from northern Spain into southern France across the Alpine Region into the Adriatic Region, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The snow will be heavy across eastern Europe. Outbreaks of snow too to come across northern Italy with heavy rain in the south. Rain is expected in the south of Spain with heavy, squally showers merging into longer spells of rain from the Balearics eastward through the Mediterranean. Very windy in the Mediterranean with gusts to 50mph. Heavy rain will affect Greece with much of Turkey dry with sunny spells. Very cold but dry across the Baltic States while snow will fall across southern Russia. Bitterly cold across Scandinavia with heavy snow across parts of Norway. Most of Sweden and Finland will be dry.

Monday
It continues very cold across much of Europe today. Snow showers are expected around the coasts of Belgian and Holland otherwise dry with sunny spells across much of Low Countries. A better day to come across Iberia with a dry, mostly sunny day expected across Portugal, Spain and most of France. A band of snow is expected to stretch from Poland across Germany, the Czech Republic to the extreme eastern parts of France. Heavy snow is likely across western parts of Norway. For Eastern Norway, Sweden and Finland that will be very cold but dry. Most of the Baltic states should also be very cold and dry with a few wintry showers around the coasts. Generally cloudy but dry across Russia and Belarus. An area of heavy snow is forecast from the Ukraine across Romania and Bulgaria and southern parts of the Adriatic region into central Italy. Outbreaks of rain forecast across Turkey there remains quite windy with heavy showers throughout much of the Mediterranean Region. Dry and sunny across the Alpine Region and Hungary.