Issued: 0530hrs Wednesday 25th October 2017
Duty forecaster: Garry Nicholson

Cold for northern Scandinavia, snow for Finland & Russia

Wednesday
Fair weather across west and central Europe, with plenty of warm sunshine for Spain and Portugal, approaching 30C for the Algarve and Andalucia. Around 25C in south-west France. Widely warmer than average temperatures for western Europe thanks to a gentle southerly airflow.
Settled weather for the Alps and Hungary, although comparitavely cooler at 14 to 18C. Some early fog patches in central Europe with light winds. A lot of cloud for Germany, with patchy rain in the north. Blustery winds for southern Scandinavia, and heavy rain passes east across Sweden into the Baltic region, which may turn to snow later as it runs into cold air across Finland and western Russia. Showery rain follows into Norway.
Dry and sunny for the western Mediterranean and much of Italy. Largely dry for the Balkans and Romania, but low pressure over the eastern Med brings thundery rain to Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus & Turkey.

Thursday
High pressure extends across much of continental Europe, bringing settled weather to many countries. Some morning fog patches, but there should be plenty of sunshine. Very warm for Spain, Portugal and France, widely 23 to 27C, up to 30C in south-west Iberia. Lots of sunshine for Italy, the Alps and Balkans. Partly cloudy for Germany and the Low Countries as a weak front lies across northern-central Europe, with a westerly breeze, which will bring a blustery day to Denmark, southern Sweden and Poland. Rain affects western Norway. Sweden should stay dry. A mix of snow and rain for southern Finland and western Russia. Very cold in northern Scandinavia, barely lifting above freezing by day. A few areas of thundery rain may linger for Turkey and Greece , but the worst of the rain from previous days should clear away southwards toward north Africa.