Issued: 0530hrs Wednesday 28th December 2016
Duty forecaster: Garry Nicholson

Warmest south-west Iberia; becoming milder in Scandinavia

Wednesday
A strong area of high pressure resides across central & western Europe, maintaining plenty of fair weather. Lots of sunshine for France and Iberia. Temperatures reaching 12 to 17C, warmest toward southern Spain and Portugal.
A cold northerly wind brings showers to eastern Europe, which may widely fall as snow, particularly over the mountains. Some heavy and persistent rain affects the Greek Islands, and snow is likely inland across Turkey. Windy across the Alps, and a band of rain and snow affects Austria, the Czech Republic and eastern Germany.
Dry for western Germany, the Low Countries and southern Scandinavia, highs 3 to 7C. A south-westerly wind strengthens for northern Scandinavia, bringing rain or mountain snow to north-west Norway. Dry with light winds for Sweden. Cold but dry for Finland.

Thursday
High pressure extends broadly across the continent, centred over Germany and Poland, bringing dry weather to many countries. Plenty of sunshine, although some persistent low level fog is likely in central Europe. Temperatures up to 14 to 17C for the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and around 13 to 15C for southern France. Lighter winds for the Alps.
A strong north-easterly flow affects south-eastern Europe, bringing widely cold conditions, and snow showers. Just 5 to 8C in Greece , and near or below freezing across the Balkans. A fairly mild south-westerly flow influences Scandinavia. Rain for western Norway, but largely dry in Sweden and Finland.