Unsettled Great Britain; Beneficial Rain Germany to Romania

By Dan DePodwin, Meteorologist

September 10,2013; 8:01PM,EDT

 

After a warm, dry summer in much of Europe, a trend toward cooler, wetter weather is on the way this week and into the weekend. Two particular areas bear watching over the next week: central and eastern Europe through Friday and the United Kingdom this weekend.

Beneficial Rain to Soak Germany to Romania

Many places from southern Germany through the Balkans to Romania experienced a drier- and warmer-than-normal summer. Although a rainy stretch ended August in some areas of central and eastern Europe, the wet weather was not accompanied by cooler temperatures.
A slow-moving storm system will bring an extended period of unsettled weather to the region through the week and into the weekend. An area of low pressure will sluggishly slide southeastward into Romania by the weekend. Along the track of this disturbance, bouts of showers and plentiful cloud cover will promote wet and cool conditions.
While the gloomy conditions will be noticeably different than the past month or two, the rainfall in beneficial for many locations that are in a short-term drought. Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have been hit hardest with parched conditions. Belgrade, Serbia, has picked up just 44 percent of normal rain since June 1 while places farther north like Budapest, Hungary, have only received 56 percent of normal.
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This stretch of cooler- and wetter-than-average conditions could be prolonged for a couple of weeks. AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls noted, "The cooldown could last for 15 to 20 days, into the last week of September. By month's end, a return to warmer-than-average conditions is possible."

Weekend Potent Cyclone to Blast United Kingdom with Rain, Wind

During the transition to fall, more powerful storm systems begin to affect the United Kingdom. The first wind-whipped rain event of the season is on tap this weekend.
Although showers can occur across the region at any time through the weekend, the biggest push of chillier air and rain will arrive across Scotland Sunday then farther south across England and Wales Monday. Steady rain should accompany the cool push in cities such as Glasgow and Liverpool while locations farther east like London will experience spottier showers.
The cool air will arrive on gusty northwest winds that can top 40 mph (64 km/h) in some locations, especially in exposed coastal sections. As is typical in the cool months of the year, the wind will really whip across the moors.
Similar to central Europe, parts of the United Kingdom also had a balmy summer. Residents of London have been treated to temperatures 2 C above normal since June 1 with less than half of normal rain. The weather to come this weekend will be in sharp contrast to the warm and dry conditions but more typical of fall across Great Britain.