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Illinois has received 1.28 inches of rain so
far in August, 0.63 inches below the long-term average. Lower
than normal rainfall occurred in most of the state, causing
drier soils. Overall soil moisture levels have decreased 11
percent at depths of 2 inches.
The largest declines were in the central region where moisture
levels were down in mid-August by 30 percent in the east and 35
percent in the west from the beginning of the month. The north,
however, saw a 17 percent increase of soil moisture.
Soils at 4 and 8 inches followed similar patterns with overall
declines for the state of 11 and 3 percent, respectively.
Moisture levels remained high at the deeper depths with August
15 averages of 0.43 and 0.40 water fraction by volume (wfv).
Levels remained steady at the 39 inch depths but declined 4
percent during August at 59 inches.
Soil temperatures have been higher than normal in August. At 4
inches under bare soil, temperatures averaged 80.4 degrees in
the first half of the month, 4 degrees higher than the long-term
average. Highs reached into the 90s with lows in the 60s and
70s. Soils at 4 inches under sod were slightly lower with an
average of 78.4 degrees, 1 degree below normal.
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]
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