Issued: 0530hrs Saturday 5th November 2016
Duty forecaster: Garry Nicholson

Cold, windy, heavy rain/snow southern Scandinavia

Saturday
Low pressure broadly affects western Europe. Rain spreads across France in the early hours as fronts push south. A wide swathe of wet weather affects areas from northern Spain to southern France, the western Alps, and northern Italy - heavy and thundery at times, snow over the mountains.
Heavy showers for southern Spain and Portugal. Cool across north-western Europe, 9 to 12C for much of France & northern Spain. Brighter skies spread across France from the north, leaving scattered showers around Brittany. The western Mediterranean remains near or above 20C. Dry for southern Italy.
High pressure centred around the Black Sea brings dry and mild or warm weather to south-eastern Europe, 19C in Greece. Cloud and outbreaks of rain or drizzle for Germany and Poland, where it will remain cool. Windy for southern Norway and Sweden, and there will be persistent heavy rain, or snow over the mountains. Showery for the Low Countries, these may be slow moving and heavy for Denmark. Northern Scandinavia stays dry and cold, with high pressure centred to the north.

Sunday
Low pressure extends across central Europe, with two centres, one over northern Italy, and another over Denmark & the Netherlands. Cool northerly winds across much of Spain and Portugal, with frequent rain or showers in the north - snow over the mountains. Southern Costas should be mainly dry, and fairly warm, 17 to locally 20C. A band of showery rain across the western Mediterranean and Italy. Persistent rain for northern Italy and the Balkans, and widespread snowfall over the Alps into Switzerland and Austria. Dry and warm for Greece and areas around the Black Sea, highs 20 to 22C.
Scattered showers for France and the Low Countries. Mainly dry for much of Germany, but cold at just 6 to 8C. Strong to gale force north-easterly winds across southern Scandinavia. A band of persistent rain or snow extends from Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states, and may result in a prolonged snowfall in southern Sweden. Frequent squally showers in Denmark. Dry and cold for Norway, northern Sweden and most of Finland, temperatures near or below freezing.