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Soil temperatures rose 6–9 degrees, on average, across the
state the first half of June.
Temperatures at 2 inches under bare soil had a state average of
84.4 degrees on June 15, 5.8 degrees above the 2015 average.
Several locations had daily maximums of 100 degrees or higher
last week. Central Illinois had the highest regional average
with 85.9 degrees on June 15. Southern and northern Illinois
averaged 84.7 and 80.7 degrees, respectively.
Temperatures were slightly lower at depths of 4 inches with an
average of 82.8 degrees on June 15 or 9.2 degrees above the
long-term average. Under sod, temperatures averaged 73.0 at 4
inches and 71.9 at 8 inches, 5.9 degrees and 5.0 degrees,
respectively, above the state’s long-term average.
The higher soil temperatures and drier weather caused soil
moisture levels to decrease. Moisture levels at 2 inches
declined on average 35 percent between June 1 and 13 to 0.23
water fraction by volume (wfv). Rains moving through northern
and central Illinois on June 14 and 15 led to an increase in
soil moisture in those areas. On average, soil moisture levels
averaged 0.27 wfv on June 15, a 23 percent decrease from the
first of the month.
Moisture levels saw similar declines at the 4- and 8-inch
depths. Moisture levels, however, remained high at 39 and 59
inches with state averages of 0.44 and 0.42 on June 15.
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 can be found at the WARM
website (
http://www.isws.illinois. edu/warm/ ) and in the
Illinois Water and Climate Summary (
http://www.isws.illinois.edu/ warm/climate.asp ).
[Lisa Sheppard]
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