Europe forecast - February 25, 2018
Severe cold spreads from east
Heavy snow Italy & Balkans

Issued: 0530hrs Sunday 25th February 2018
Duty forecaster: Garry Nicholson


Warm and dry Iberia, but changes ahead


Sunday
A strong block of high pressure over Scandinavia ushers bitterly cold air out of Russia into eastern Europe. Widely sub-zero during the daytime for eastern countries. Increasingly cold conditions also spread into central areas. A lot of dry weather for northern Europe. Bands of snow showers are possible around Baltic coasts, running into Poland and northern Germany. Snow flurries affect Norway. Windy for the Alps, southern Germany and central-northern France, with a significant chill factor. Highs of 10C in south-western France.
Meanwhile, southern Europe is unsettled. Snow for central Italy. Heavy bursts of rain around Sicily, plus Corsica and Sardinia. Showery rain for Greece , then heavier rain setting in later. Heavy snow for the mountains of the southern Balkans. Dry and fairly warm for Spain and Portugal, highs of 13 to 17C, warmest south.


Monday
Rain develops for south-western Spain and Portugal as fronts move in from the Atlantic. This heralds a change to very unsettled weather across Iberia in the week ahead. Low pressure influences south-eastern Europe, moving north-eastwards toward the Black Sea on Monday, bringing heavy snow to Bulgaria, southern Romania and parts of Greece, although the islands should see rain. Further rain and snow for central and southern Italy.
Central Europe will be dry and cold, with bitter easterly winds. Temperatures close to freezing in France, but widely sub-zero across Germany and the Alps. Severe cold for eastern Europe, with daytime values of -5 to -10C in Poland, or below -10C in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Bands of snow showers affect eastern Sweden and northern Germany. Largely dry for much of Scandinavia, but Norway may see snow flurries in the south and west.