Europe weather through Friday evening: Atlantic rain, Italian storms and calmer central Europe
Updated Thursday 17 September 2026 at 12:15 CEST. Europe is sitting under a highly varied September pattern. Atlantic systems are keeping northwestern Europe windy and showery, central Europe is temporarily quieter behind a cold front, while a separate low is driving more significant rain and thunderstorms across northern and central Italy.
Northwest Europe: windy, showery and unsettled
Across the United Kingdom, rain has been clearing southeast England while showers continue farther north and west. The Met Office expects the strongest winds in northern and western areas, with coastal gales possible around northern Scotland. Ireland is also breezy and showery today.
On Friday, another area of rain moves into western Britain and Ireland and progresses eastwards. Eastern and southeastern England stay drier for longer, while the north and northwest remain the windiest areas.
France: wet in the north, bright in the southeast
A frontal zone is bringing cloud and rain from Brittany towards the Channel coast and northern France today. The southeast is much sunnier, with temperatures around 27 to 28°C near the Mediterranean and Corsica. Mistral and Tramontane gusts of around 50 to 60 km/h remain a concern because vegetation is exceptionally dry.
By Friday the French rain becomes less organised. A few showers persist from the southwest towards the northeast, while thunderstorms may develop near the southern Alps and Haute-Corse.
Germany, Switzerland and Austria: a calmer but mixed transition
Germany is under cooler maritime air, but widespread severe weather is not expected. The north remains cloudier, windier and locally damp, while southern Germany sees more pleasant intervals. Friday stays mostly cloudy, with temperatures generally around 18 to 23°C.
Switzerland is quieter: Zurich is around 21°C today and Friday, with long dry spells and increasing sunshine. Austria is more mixed, with rain and low cloud lingering in central and southern mountain areas while the west and north improve. Friday remains locally unsettled in the south and over the mountains.
Italy: the most active weather zone in central Europe
Italy has the highest-impact weather in this part of Europe today. Italian Civil Protection has an orange thunderstorm alert for parts of Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, with yellow alerts across several other northern and central regions. Heavy showers, thunderstorms, strong gusts and frequent lightning are possible.
On Friday the low shifts towards central Italy. Rain and thunderstorms become more widespread across the centre and extend into parts of the south, while northern Italy remains showery in places. The exact distribution will remain highly uneven.
Iberia and southeastern Europe: generally the drier side
Large parts of Spain and Portugal sit on the quieter side of the European pattern today, although local thunderstorms remain possible around the Mediterranean after the recent Catalonia episode. Farther southeast, areas from the Balkans towards Greece and Romania are generally warmer and drier than western and northern Europe.
What matters through Friday evening
The main European weather story is not one single continent-wide storm. It is the contrast between three zones: wind and rain in the Atlantic northwest, thunderstorms around Italy and the central Mediterranean, and calmer conditions across much of central and southeastern Europe.
Travellers should pay closest attention to the UK and Irish coasts for strong winds, northern and central Italy for thunderstorms and local flooding risk, and the western Mediterranean for strong regional winds. Elsewhere, the weather is more about cloud, temperature contrasts and local showers than widespread severe conditions.