Winter Storm Eoywn blasts Ireland/U.K. today bringing hurricane force wind to all of Southwest/West Europe. Another storm into France is possible Thursday. However, Central Europe to Western Russia stay dry as drought concerns in that region increase.

During mid-January, an arctic air mass formed in Northern Canada and Greenland. After the arctic air mass formed, a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) episode emerged over Canada. The warming and expanding stratosphere quickly compensated for by a cooling troposphere beneath, as a polar vortex formed in central North America.

A drying soil moisture trend is established across parts of West and Southwest Russia into Eastern Europe plus west/southwest Italy to Portugal and Northwest Africa. Last week, a very dry pattern stretched across most of Europe and Western Russia. The dryness is attributed to general high pressure aloft downwind a large marine heatwave in the east/northeast North Atlantic. The 15-day outlook maintains dryness across Eastern Europe and Southwest Russia.