Weather report - Swedish Rally.

After the unpredictable conditions faced the crews on the recent Monte Carlo Rally, this weekend's event in northern Europe is likely to require less of a gamble on settings and tyre.

There is likely to be snow lying on most of the stages although snow falling during the weekend is unlikely, except perhaps towards Sunday, when the risk is slightly greater than the previous days. Towards the mid- to latter half of the weekend, temperatures will increase and could cause problems for the drivers with regards to road surfaces, with snow turning into mud, and eventually becoming a mixture of mud and gravel.

Karlstad - Sweden
Friday:
A mainly dry and bright day is expected with some sunny spells at times, although leading to a cold day. Temperatures during the morning period will climb no higher than -9C / 16F. Temperatures are unlikely to recover during the afternoon, despite the winter sunshine, with a maximum for the day reaching a high of -8C / 18F. There is a small chance of a snow flurry, but the risk is no higher than 10 per cent. Temperatures will plunge towards the evening, with the lowest reaching -15 / 5F overnight and leading to widespread ice the following morning.
Saturday:
An icy start to the day after overnight low temperatures, although a big change is expected. Somewhat milder weather is likely to sweep in, with highs just perhaps scraping towards 0C / 32F! This is the result of a change in wind direction from northerly to southerly, bringing cloudy and somewhat moist conditions. Again, a low risk of a shower, no higher than 15 to 20 per cent. Overnight temperatures will dip, but not as sharply as Friday night. A low of -6C / 25F is expected as cloud builds towards dawn.
Sunday:
A cloudier day is expected, with a greater chance of some light snow showers - although the risk is still relatively low at 30 to 40 per cent. The mild weather is expected to stay for the remainder of the day with highs into positive figures, reaching a maximum of 1C / 33F.

All forecasts kindly provided by Martin Chuter CNS