Issued: 0530hrs Friday 12th August 2016
Duty forecaster: Garry Nicholson

Increasing hot western Europe this weekend

Friday
High pressure extends across central Europe, bringing plenty of dry weather to the continent. Heat is confined to the far south & south-west, whilst northern areas are rather cool. Temperatures in Spain will reach 34 to 37C inland, slightly cooler on the Costas. A strong easterly winds affects areas around Gibraltar. Fair weather extends across the Mediterranean. Local thundery showers inland for Greece . Breezy across the Aegean Sea.
Dry and sunny for France and the Low Countries, highs 23 to 26C in the north, but reaching 28 to 31C in south-western France. A zone of cloud and patchy rain drifts slowly east across central-southern Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, where temperatures will be cool at 17C or below. Dry for Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Thunderstorms locally for Romania and Ukraine. Breezy for Denmark and southern Norway & Sweden. Persistent rain for western Norway. Areas of slow-moving showers in northern Scandinavia. Mainly dry around the Baltic.

Saturday
Slack high pressure becomes widespread across the continent, bringing extensive fair weather. Another hot day for Spain and Portugal, although remaining breezy in the south. Light winds for the western Mediterranean and Italy, with plenty of sunshine. Breezy for Greece and the Greek Islands. Risk of showers for Turkey. Isolated showers possible over the Alps.
Dry across France, where temperatures will become very warm or hot, 32 to 35C in the south-west. Fresher for the Low Countries, Germany & Poland, around 23 to 25C. Dry and warm too across eastern Europe.
Low pressure over Scandinavia brings unsettled and windy conditions to Denmark and the Baltic. Showers or longer spells of rain for Norway & Sweden. More prolonged falls of rain are possible in Finland. The far north may escape drier with sunny spells, although rather cool.