Increasingly dry conditions in western Europe contrasted
with beneficial rain in central and eastern areas.A persistent ridge of high pressure maintained mostly dry weather from southeastern England and France onto the Iberian Peninsula.
Short-term dryness has become a concern in southeastern England, France, and - to a lesser extent - western Germany, with rainfall over the past 30 days totaling 10 to 50 percent of normal.
However, winter wheat and rapeseed were still in the vegetative stages of development and yield potential had not yet been adversely impacted.
In Spain, longer-term dryness (10-50 percent of normal over the past 60 days) and warmer-than-normal temperatures (up to 7°C above normal) have adversely impacted wheat and barley in the reproductive (north) to filling (south) stages of development; as a result, yield expectations have likely been reduced.
Meanwhile, a series of slow-moving storms brought widespread soaking rainfall (10-75 mm, locally more) from central and southern portions of Germany and Poland into the Balkans and eastern Italy.
The wet weather slowed the planting of summer crops (corn, soybeans, sunflowers, and cotton) but maintained excellent moisture supplies for vegetative winter grains and oilseeds.