Dry weather has gripped much of southwest Europe over the past several months. In fact, many areas have had a dry year overall.

Many parts of southern and western Europe, from Spain to northern Italy to southern Germany, are running well behind on their yearly rainfall. Many areas are running 5-10 inches below normal. while areas of southern France are running as much as 15-20 inches below normal.

At Bordeaux, France, only 9.53 inches (243 mm) of rain has fallen year to date, well below the normal amount of 30.29 inches (769 mm) that should fall. The lack of rain this year has impacted the regions vineyards. Many area wineries have reported smaller grape sizes, though these grapes have produced a better concentration of juice.

The warm summer raised some fears that the maturing crops would be greatly stressed. However, some well timed rain, especially during July and August, helped alleviate those fears. The warm weather did, however, ward off pests and diseases that can damage crops. Only minor damage was caused in the

While winemakers across the region were able to cope with the sporadic rains this year has brought, many other areas have been quite burdened by the lack of rain, especially in major cities such as Madrid, causing water shortages.

While Madrid is typically a drier climate, similar to Denver, only about a third of the amount of rain, year to date, has fallen. Only 5.34 inches (136 mm) has fallen, well below the normal amount of rain of 15.09 inches (383 mm) that should have fallen.

Over the next several days, it appears that little to no drought relief is in store for the region. This is the result of a large dome of high pressure building eastward from the Atlantic Ocean. This will cause the jet stream to remain well north of the area, sending wet conditions across the United Kingdom into Scandinavia.

Under high pressure, plenty of sunshine will prevail throughout Spain, France and northern Italy Thursday through Sunday, while afternoon temperatures will average several degrees above normal. In fact, it may take until the middle of next week until some beneficial rains reach southern Germany, France and Spain.