Cool
August, but fall forecast calls for warmer-than-normal temps
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[September 04, 2008]
CHAMPAIGN -- August statewide
precipitation was below normal, ending an eight-month streak of
above-normal precipitation in Illinois that began in December 2007,
according to Jim Angel, state climatologist, of the Illinois State
Water Survey.
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Statewide August precipitation was 2.3 inches, which is 1.4 inches
below normal and the 16th-driest August on record. Combined with
above-normal precipitation since the start of 2008, the
January-August total was 35.1 inches, still 8.0 inches above normal.
While portions of west-central and southwestern Illinois received
near-normal precipitation, drier conditions prevailed in
east-central and southeastern Illinois. One of the drier spots was
Champaign-Urbana, which received only 0.8 inches, 3.6 inches below
normal, for the sixth-driest August according to records extending
back to 1889.
Also noticeable was the lack of hot weather. August statewide
temperatures averaged 72 degrees, 2 degrees below normal.
While Chicago reported one day of 90-degree weather at O'Hare
Airport and two days at Midway Airport, most of northern Illinois
reported none. Central Illinois sites reported between one and three
days, and southern Illinois reported between three and nine days
--all below normal.
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The National Weather Service September forecast calls for an
increased chance of below-normal temperatures in the western half of
the state, and the remainder of the state has equal chances of
above-, below- or near-normal temperatures.
The three-month September-November forecast calls for an
increased chance of above-normal temperatures and equal chances of
above-, below- or near-normal precipitation throughout Illinois.
"One of the concerns right now is the threat of an early frost
causing damage to late-developing crops. Normal frost dates range
from Oct. 7 in northern Illinois and Oct. 14 in central Illinois to
Oct. 21 in southern Illinois. It's too early to tell if an early
frost is likely to occur," concludes Angel.
The Illinois State Water
Survey, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, under
the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability, is the primary
agency in Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources.
[Text from file received from
the Illinois
State Water Survey]
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