An area of high pressure centred over the Balkans maintained dry, increasingly warm weather (2-7°C above normal) from England and France into Germany, Italy, and the western Balkans.
Weekly average temperatures greater than 5°C for a second consecutive week indicated winter crops broke dormancy up to a month ahead of normal in northern France and several weeks ahead of normal in England.
The warmth also reduced wheat cold hardiness in Germany and likely encouraged some early greening in western-most portions of the country.
Colder-than-normal conditions (up to 3°C below normal) lingered over the Danube River Valley, ensuring winter wheat and rapeseed remained dormant in these southeastern growing areas.
Dry weather prevailed from northern France into Poland, though some light showers (1-8 mm) accompanied a weak disturbance from central France into southern Poland.
While winter dryness does not cause the types of impacts associated with warm-season drought, pronounced 90-day precipitation deficits prevailed from France and Germany into the northern and central Balkans.
Meanwhile, another in a series of Atlantic storms triggered widespread moderate to heavy rain (5-60 mm, locally more) across much of the Iberian Peninsula, maintaining good to excellent prospects for vegetative winter wheat and barley.