Issued: 0530hrs Friday 6th February 2015
Duty forecaster: Garry Nicholson

Snow and gales developing for Scandinavia


Friday
Feeling cool for Spain and Portugal with scattered showers around coastal areas, although mostly dry for central and eastern Spain. Low pressure brings unsettled weather across the Mediterranean, with slow moving thundery showers for the Balearics, Corsica and Sardinia. Heavy periods of rain for Italy and the Adriatic region, with snow over the mountains. Heavy thundery rain also affects much of Greece. Dry and bright for Turkey and Cyprus. Snow over the mountains of Croatia and Slovenia, and patchy snow too for southern regions of the Alps. A strong and cold east to north-easterly wind for France, although much of the country is dry. A similar cold wind for Switzerland, Austria, southern Germany and the Czech Republic. Dry across northern-central Europe, including Belgium, the Netherlands, most of Germany and Poland. Southern Scandinavia remains dry with light winds, although a fresher breeze toward the north brings patchy rain and snow to western Norway. Areas of sleet and snow also affect Finland and the Baltic states.

Saturday
High pressure centred north-west of Britain and Ireland brings plenty of dry weather to central and western Europe on Saturday. Low pressure to the south continues to produce unsettled conditions, heavy slow moving and thundery showers for Italy, the Mediterranean islands and western Greece. Brighter for the Greek Islands and Turkey. Cool, but dry and bright for Spain and Portugal. A cold wind continues to affect France and the Alpine region, although it is broadly dry. Dry with some sunshine for Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Low pressure pushes south across Scandinavia, bringing north-westerly gales and heavy snow to Norway and northern Sweden. Windy and largely dry for Denmark and southern Sweden, although increasing chilly as a weak cold front pushes south. Snow also affects Finland.