Easter Sunday: Rain, Snow Target Italy, Balkans; Fog in Store for UK

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

April 4,2015; 12:15AM,EDT

 

 

A pair of storm systems will bring less-than-ideal weather for Easter holiday festivities across a large part of Europe this weekend.
One storm system that was responsible for dropping showers from the British Isles into France on Friday will become more potent as the holiday weekend progresses.
Rain and mountain snow will increase along the storm's path as it tracks across central Europe on Saturday, then to the Balkan Peninsula on Easter Sunday.
As snow returns to the Alps, a chilly rain will fall in Zurich, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany, on Saturday. Some rain will also spread over central and northern Italy, including Rome.
Rain will persist across Italy on Easter Sunday as the soaking rain spreads to the western Balkan Peninsula. The rain could fall heavy enough and be accompanied by thunderstorms, along the southwestern coast of the peninsula to trigger flash flooding. This includes in Tirana, Albania.

Rome should escape the heaviest of Sunday's rain, but a shower or two still threatens to dampen services and other holiday activities. Rome will also narrowly escape the winds set to howl north of the city on Sunday.
These winds are called bora winds, which were responsible for the damage in northern Italy in early March. While the winds will not be as strong as what whipped at that time, gusts of 50 to 80 kph (30 to 50 mph) will still howl on Sunday from western Croatia, including Split, to Italy in the vicinity of Florence.
At the same time, a snowy Easter Sunday will unfold in the Dinaric Alps. The heaviest snow will target the higher terrain, but Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, should even get wet snow mixing with a chilly rain during the day. A transition to 2 to 8 cm (1 to 3 inches) of snow will occur in the city Sunday night.
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Meanwhile, a much weaker storm system will keep eastern Europe damp both days of this Easter weekend with daily rain showers. This includes in Warsaw, Poland; Kiev, Ukraine; and Minsk, Belarus. Snowflakes or snow pellets could fall in the heaviest rain showers.
To the west, high pressure will expand its grip across the British Isles and into northern France and northwestern Germany by Easter Sunday. That does not mean mild temperatures and bright sunshine are expected.
Patchy low clouds and fog will instead form and could hold stubbornly over some areas into Sunday afternoon.
One of the best places weather-wise to spend Easter Sunday will be in Madrid, Spain. Pleasantly warm air will prevail as afternoon spotty thunderstorms remain to the south.