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August provided Illinois with extremes
Rainfall
records in north and drought in south
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[September 12, 2007]
CHAMPAIGN -- "Rainfall amounts
in northeastern Illinois established this as the wettest August and
wettest summer since regional records began in 1895," said Jim
Angel, state climatologist, of the
Illinois State Water Survey,
a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
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 "Rainfall for northeastern Illinois -- including those counties from
Boone to LaSalle and eastward -- averaged 11.47 inches, 7.33 inches
above normal, and beat the 1987 record of 11.02 inches. June-August
totals thus far in this area averaged 20.05 inches, 8.02 inches
above normal, and beat the 1972 record of 19.26 inches. Northwestern
Illinois received 8.45 inches in August, 4.05 inches above normal
and the fifth-wettest on record. Its June-August total was 19.18
inches, 6.69 inches above normal and the fourth wettest on record,"
Angel said."Many individual stations also set all-time August
records, noteworthy because climate records for these locations go
back more than 50 years. The list includes Elgin, 15.12 inches;
Peotone, 14.00 inches; Rockford, 13.82 inches; Peru, 13.48 inches;
Freeport, 12.09 inches; Morris, 11.94 inches; Antioch, 11.41 inches;
and Joliet, 10.53 inches. Several other stations with much shorter
records also reported impressive rainfall totals, including Genoa,
15.71 inches; McHenry, 12.65 inches; Chicago Botanic Garden, 12.61
inches; Streamwood, 11.62 inches; and Yorkville, 11.17 inches."
Parts of southern and west-central Illinois, however, struggled
with a lack of rainfall in August and still are classified as either
abnormally dry or in moderate drought according to the U.S. Drought
Monitor. Far southern Illinois, south of Interstate 64, received
only 1.40 inches, 1.91 inches below normal.
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"The contrast between northern and southern Illinois was one of the
strongest I have ever seen," said Angel.
August was unusually warm as well, with a statewide temperature
of 78.3 degrees, 4.6 degrees above normal and the sixth-warmest on
record. "The combination of dry conditions and hot weather really
stressed crops in parts of southern and central Illinois," Angel
said.
"The first 10 days of September reflect a continuation of this
warm weather, with a statewide temperature of 74.2 degrees, 3.6
degrees above normal. More promising is a shift in the rainfall
pattern to less rainfall in northern Illinois and more in southern
Illinois. The National Weather Service expects cooler and drier
conditions to prevail over the next two weeks," he said.
Disclaimer: Data used for all statistics provided herein are from
the Midwestern Regional Climate Center and are based on preliminary
data.
[Text from file received from the Illinois
State Water Survey] |
