Issued: 0530hrs Saturday 4th April 2020
Duty forecaster: Garry Nicholson

Temperatures rising with southerly winds

Saturday
High pressure over central Europe promotes a warm southerly flow across western Europe this weekend. Showers develop across southern Portugal and also extend into southwest Spain later. Fair across much of central and eastern Spain as well as the Balearics. Italy is going to be fair too with plenty of sunshine. Thundery rain in much of Greece with low pressure over the eastern Mediterranean. This thundery rain affects western Turkey too. Most of central and eastern Turkey plus Cyprus stay dry.
France is going to be warm and sunny as well as dry. More sunshine in the Low Countries. Germany is dry too with more sunshine. Sun and scattered light showers for Poland and Austria. Generally dry for Hungary as well as Switzerland.
Sunny and dry in Denmark. Cool with wintry showers in the Baltic States. Further showers in Finland, some heavy. The wintry showers also affecting northern Sweden but the south should be dry. Heavy snow showers over northern and western coasts of Norway, drier to the south.

Sunday
High pressure drifts further east across Europe, allowing southerly winds to strengthen over western countries, and allows warm air to be dragged more extensively into the heart of the continent. Atlantic fronts moving into Iberia from the west bring heavy rain and risk of thunderstorms for Portugal and western Spain, whilst further east it stays dry. Fine weather extends across France, Italy, the Alps and central-western Mediterranean.
It stays wet across Greece and the Aegean Sea, with low pressure moving around slowly across the eastern Mediterranean. Feeling cool across the Balkans with easterly winds. Strongest winds around the Bosporus and Black Sea coasts. Cyprus should escape dry. Extensive dry weather for Poland, Hungary, Romania and neighbouring eastern countries.
Mild southerly winds extend into southern Scandinavia. Patchy rain spreads north through Norway, although Sweden, Finland and Baltic regions will be largely dry.