Wet, cool weather prevailed over much of the continent, though heat and drought persisted on the Iberian Peninsula.
A series of Atlantic storm systems paraded eastward across the continent, producing a large swath of moderate to heavy rainfall (5-50 mm, locally more) from England and France into Poland and the Baltic States.
Later in the period, a stalled frontal boundary over the southern Balkans triggered 15 to 60 mm of rain from Croatia into the lower Danube River Valley.
The widespread rainfall was beneficial for winter crop establishment, though corn and sunflower harvesting was delayed by the wet conditions.
Temperatures from France into Poland and the Balkans averaged 1 to 3°C below normal, though there were no season-ending freezes reported.
In contrast, dryness and heat (31-36°C) accompanied the start of Spain’s cool wet season, which marked the second consecutive year the Iberian Peninsula began the typically wet autumn and winter growing season mired in drought.
While it is still early in Spain for barley and wheat (typically planted in November), water supplies and soil moisture remained very limited following last year’s drought and this past summer’s excessive heat.