High pressure centered near the British Isles maintained dry, warm weather (up to 4°C above normal) over the western half of the continent.
While the sunny skies promoted the development of vegetative winter wheat and rapeseed, short-term dryness (25-50 percent of normal precipitation over the past 30 days) has reduced topsoil moisture for crop development from southeastern England and northern France into western Germany.
Farther south, dryness also remained a concern for vegetative to reproductive winter grains in northern Spain, though crop prospects are better in southern portions of the country due to near- to above-normal fall and winter precipitation.
Meanwhile, light showers (3-10 mm) were welcomed in northern Italy, improving topsoil moisture for corn and soybean planting and establishment.
In central and eastern Europe, a series of weak disturbances produced widespread albeit highly variable showers (2-30 mm, locally more) from eastern Germany, Poland, and Lithuania into the Balkans.
The rain improved soil moisture in the upper Danube River Valley and maintained favorable early-season prospects for vegetative wheat and rapeseed elsewhere.
Despite the clouds and showers, weekly average temperatures up to 5°C above normal encouraged a faster-than-normal crop development pace over the eastern half of the continent.