Increasingly hot weather was accompanied by showers and thunderstorms, although favorably drier conditions returned to west-central Russia and northern Ukraine after weeks of rain. An area of high pressure settled over western Russia, bringing several days of moderate to extreme heat (32-38°C, up to 8°C above normal) to much of the region. However, winter wheat was largely past the temperature-sensitive reproductive and early filling stages of development, and many of these same croplands were the beneficiaries of 100 to 250 percent-of-normal rainfall over the preceding 30 days. In addition, light to moderate showers (2-17 mm) propagating northwestward from the Black Sea Coast further eased potential heat impacts from Russia’s North Caucasus District into southeastern Ukraine. Cooler temperatures returned to the region as of June 12, with highs easing back into the upper 20s. Meanwhile, showers and thunderstorms traversed the northern periphery of the high, bringing 10 to 100 mm of rainfall (locally more) to vegetative spring grains and summer crops from western Ukraine and northern Belarus eastward into Russia’s Central and Volga Districts. The moisture was especially welcome in central Russia, where localized but acute short-term dryness (60-day rainfall less than 60 percent of normal) had begun to impact spring grain development. Summer crops (corn, sunflowers, and soybeans) were vegetative and likewise largely unaffected by the heat.