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Soils at 4 inches under bare soil averaged 58.1 degrees on
May 15, 6.5 degrees below the long-term average. Temperatures
were lower across the state with averages ranging from 54.5
degrees in northern Illinois to 60.9 degrees in the south.
Temperatures were slightly warmer at depths of 2 inches,
averaging 58.7 degrees statewide.
Temperatures under sod averaged 59.9 degrees at 4 inches and
59.8 degrees at 8 inches, 2.8 and 2.1 degrees, respectively,
below the long-term average.
Soil moisture was higher across the state with levels near or
above field capacity over most of the state. Levels at depths of
2, 4, and 8 inches peaked with the storms at the end of last
week and have been slowly declining. Statewide, levels averaged
0.38 water fraction by volume (wfv) at 2 inches and 0.37 wfv at
both 4 and 8 inches.
Soil moisture was highest in southern Illinois, which had a
regional average of 0.41 wfv at 2 inches on May 15. East-central
Illinois had the lowest regional average with 0.33 wfv.
Little change was seen at depths of 20 inches and greater. Soil
moisture levels remained higher, averaging 0.40, 0.45, and 0.43
wfv at 20, 39, and 59 inches, respectively.
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 A. Sheppard]
The Illinois State Water Survey
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a division of
the Prairie Research Institute, is the primary agency in
Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources.
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