Wednesday, 4 October 2017

Latest USDA weather update for Europe

Drier weather returned to eastern Europe, while showers arrived in western and northern growing areas by week’s end.

A large area of high pressure over western Russia early in the period drifted westward, bringing drier conditions to most major growing areas from the Baltic States into the northern and central Balkans.

The respite from recent heavy rain allowed summer crop harvesting and winter crop sowing to resume.

However, light to moderate showers (3-20 mm) lingered in southern and western Poland and surrounding environs, further delaying fieldwork in these locales.

Likewise, moderate to heavy rainfall (10-75 mm) in the southern Balkans interrupted summer crop harvesting.

By week’s end, a strong cold front generated widespread showers (5-50 mm) from France and the United Kingdom into Germany, maintaining favourable moisture supplies for wheat and rapeseed establishment.

Meanwhile, dry conditions lingered in Spain and Portugal; cool-season rain typically commences on the Iberian Peninsula in late-September and early October, and rain will be especially welcome following this past year’s drought and heat.