Issued: 0530hrs Thursday 14th June 2012
Duty forecaster: Simon Keeling

Fine in the Mediterranean, but more unsettled to the north and west

Thursday
With deep low pressure moving south of Ireland, strong gales will develop across Biscay. Strong north winds will also prevail from the south Aegean Sea to the west of Crete.
Northern parts of Europe will be rather cool with highest temperatures across Spain through the Mediterranean across Greece and up through the far eastern parts of Europe. Showers are expected across England, north eastern parts of France, and across into Belgium and Germany. Western and southern parts of France will be fine and dry with sunny spells with heavy showers over the Alps, across into Austria. Outbreaks of rain are expected across Poland heavy showers push in across the Baltic region and Belarus.
Lots a fine, dry, sunny and very warm weather will extend from Ukraine down through Romania, the former Yugoslavia, Greece and across into all of Turkey. Heavy showers will develop across the Czech Republic and the extreme north of Italy today. Central, southern parts of Italy will be sunny and warm with a few showers around Sicily and the Balearics. Hot, dry and sunny across Spain and Portugal today. Mostly sunny and dry across the Netherlands and Denmark with quite a few showers forecast for much of Norway, Sweden. Most of Finland will be fair and dry with heavy showers across central and eastern parts of Russia.

Friday
Cloud and outbreaks of rain for the north of Spain on Friday. Elsewhere Iberia should be fine and dry with good spells of sunshine. Plenty of sunshine through the Mediterranean too with more sunshine in the Balearics and Italy. Greece and Turkey will be fine too with lots of sunshine, although the risk of some showers over high ground.
Heavy showers for northwest France. Sunny spells over central and southern France. Cloud and some rain for the Low Countries and Germany, these edging into the west of Poland. Eastern Poland should be dry with sunny spells, with dry and bright weather in Austria although some heavy showers forming in Switzerland.
Light winds through Scandinavia. There will be sunny spells and slow moving heavy showers across Finland and Norway. A risk of some heavy showers in Denmark and Norway too with some good sunny spells.