Soil moisture levels remain slightly above normal
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[June 21, 2013]
CHAMPAIGN -- Soil moisture
levels remained slightly above normal in the middle of June in
Illinois, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric
Resources Monitoring program manager at the Prairie Research
Institute, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.
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On June 15, soil moisture levels at 2 inches averaged 0.29 water
fraction by volume, or wfv, in Illinois, which is 9 percent above
normal for the day and 2 percent less than May 15. This is a marked
increase from the values of a year ago, when soil moisture averaged
0.17 wfv, only slightly above the wilting point for most soils
monitored. Moisture levels were highest in southern Illinois, with
an average level of 0.33 wfv, or 16 percent above normal.
Similar trends were seen at depths of 20 inches, where soil
moisture averaged 0.40 wfv, which is 8 percent above normal and 3
percent below the May 15 average. Moisture levels were 67 percent
above the average from 2012.
Soil temperatures averaged 75.4 degrees F at 4 inches under bare
soil, which is 0.2 degrees below normal for the day. Temperatures
are lower than those from last year, when soil temperatures averaged
79.6 degrees.
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The Illinois State Water Survey's WARM program collects hourly
and daily weather and soil information at 19 stations across the
state. Daily and monthly summaries are available at the
WARM website and in
the Illinois
Water and Climate Summary.
Maps of soil temperatures and moisture levels are also available
on the WARM
website.
[Text from file received from
the Illinois
State Water Survey]
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