Western FSU
Wet weather prevailed over much of the region, sustaining
good to excellent winter crop prospects but curtailing seasonal fieldwork.
A slow-moving disturbance triggered widespread showers and
thunderstorms - some with large hail and heavy downpours - from eastern Belarus
and northern Ukraine into western and southern Russia.
Hail was most prominent in central and southern portions of
Russia’s Southern District early in the period, but impacts on regional crop
production were minor, if any.
In fact, the rain (10-70 mm, locally more) maintained good
to excellent prospects for reproductive to filling winter wheat in Russia and
Ukraine, though late summer crop sowing was slowed or halted by the locally
heavy downpours.
Eastern FSU
Favourably dry weather in the north contrasted with
additional beneficial rainfall in southern portions of the region.
Across northern Kazakhstan and neighbouring portions of
central Russia, sunny skies and near-normal temperatures promoted a rapid pace
of spring wheat planting.
However, for a second consecutive week eastern-most portions
of the spring wheat belt tallied heavier showers (10-40 mm), slowing fieldwork
but maintaining adequate to abundant soil moisture for wheat establishment.
Farther south, heavy showers and thunderstorms (10-95 mm,
locally more) over eastern Uzbekistan and environs provided supplemental
moisture for irrigated winter wheat, which was in the reproductive to grainfill
stages of development.