Issued: 0530hrs Thursday 14th January 2016
Duty forecaster: Garry Nicholson

Warm and sunny southern Spain & Greece


Thursday
Persistent heavy rain and mountain snow for northern Spain in the morning will slowly fade as it advances south. Staying dry and mild in the south of Spain, locally 20C. Patchy rain affects Portugal. Rain also affects southern France and northern Italy, whilst the western Alps and Pyrenees will see snow. Dry but fairly cloudy for central France, but the north sees areas of rain.
Southern Italy and Greece will be dry and sunny under a ridge of high pressure. Rain and mountain snow spreads to Croatia later in the day. Dry across Romania, the Czech Republic and Hungary. Central Europe remains cool, with areas of rain and sleet for Belgium, the Netherlands and western Germany. Dry for eastern Germany and Poland, temperatures around -1 to 2C. Scandinavia remains very cold, but largely dry. Temperatures by day struggling to do much better than -10C even in southern regions of Sweden and Norway. Local snow flurries around the Baltic.

Friday
Rain advances south into southern Spain, giving some heavy and thundery bursts, also affecting the Balearics. Showers for northern Spain. Sunny and dry in Portugal. Areas of showers spread south across Italy. Persistent heavy rain and mountain snow affects the Balkans. Much of Greece, also Turkey, remains dry with sunshine.
A cool northerly breeze affects France, with areas of showers, a mix of sleet and snow at times. Bands of heavy wintry showers are likely for Belgium and the Netherlands, spreading inland off the North Sea. Chilly across Germany, with intermittent rain, sleet and snow. Patchy snow affects Alpine regions, with cloudy and dull skies for much of central Europe. Scandinavia remains bitterly cold. Some snow for western Norway, and scattered flurries around the Baltic.