Contrasting weather was observed on the territory of Ukraine during the second ten-day period of September. Most days were warm and mostly dry with average daily air temperatures 2-5°C above normal. At the end of the second ten-day period and during the third ten-day period, with the intrusion of the Arctic air, a sharp cooling took place with a decrease in temperature to 1-6 °C below the norm. In the eastern and northern regions, frosts were observed on the soil surface and a height of 2 cm above the soil surface, in some places in the Luhansk region and in the air. In almost the entire territory of the country, with the transition of the average daily air temperature from the limit of 15 °C downwards in the last days of the ten-day period, the meteorological summer ended about or a week earlier than usual.
Effective rains (the norm and more than the norm) were observed only in the northern, northeastern and certain regions of the central regions with the movement of a cold atmospheric front in the middle of a ten-day period; showers accompanied by gusty winds were observed in certain regions of these regions. In the rest of the territory, precipitation fell much less than the norm.
The average monthly average regional air temperature in the Volyn, Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi regions turned out to be close to normal, in the rest of the country – 1.1-2.1 °C below it and ranged from 11.6 °С in the north to 16.1 °С in the south of the country. The maximum air temperature increased to 26-31 °С, and in the Mykolaiv, Odesa and Kherson regions within 1-2 days the maximum air temperature reached and exceeded 30 °С. On the coolest nights, the minimum air temperature dropped in the eastern, northern and Lviv regions to 0°С – minus 2°С, in the Luhansk region – to minus 3°С, in the rest of the territory – to plus 1-4°С.
The average regional September rainfall in the Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Mykolayiv, Cherkasy, Kyiv, Khmelnytsky, Chernivtsi, Transcarpathian and Volyn regions was 51-80% of the norm (24-49 mm), in the eastern, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Rivne and Ternopil regions monthly precipitation was close to normal (39-64 mm). In the Sumy, Chernihiv and Lviv regions in September, the amount of precipitation ranged from 132 to 154% of the norm (70-95 mm). The least amount of precipitation for the month was noted in the Vinnytsya, Ivano-Frankivsk – 31-49% of the norm (18-37 mm) and Odesa regions – only 11 mm or 24% of the norm.
During the second and third ten-day periods the sowing of winter crops lasted. Satisfactory and optimal moisture was observed in most of the country’s territory on areas already sown with winter crops – 21-40 mm of productive moisture in the tilth-top soil. In some areas of the northern, western and central regions, soil moisture remained excessive – 41-55 mm. Unsatisfactory soil moisture remained in most areas of the Kherson, in many areas of Mykolaiv, Zaporizhya, Donetsk and Luhansk regions – 6-10 mm of productive moisture. In the Odesa region soil drought covers most of the territory. Cool weather hindered the ripening of late crops, however, optimal soil moisture and moderate air temperatures created satisfactory conditions for germination and initial development of winter crops. Frosts were unfavorable for dug out, but unopened root crops. The predominance of cloudy weather restrained the accumulation of sugars in roots and fruits.