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Soil temperatures in Illinois were near normal
the first half of the month with an average of 50° at depths of
4 inches under bare soil, 1° above the long-term average.
Temperatures declined slightly last week as the weather cooled
but have been steadily rising since Sunday. On April 17,
temperatures averaged 59° in Illinois, an increase of 15° since
April 1. The northern region is seeing slightly cooler
temperatures with an average of 56°, while southern temperatures
average 61° with daily highs in the low 70s.
Temperatures at 2-inch depths are slightly warmer, with an
average of 53° on April 17. Daily highs were in the low to mid
70s for most southern and central Illinois locations.
Soil moisture has remained high in April. Levels at 4 inches
averaged 0.37 water fraction by volume (wfv) on April 17, which
is at or above the field capacity for most of the soils
monitored. Soils were wettest in the south and east.
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 .
[Jennie Atkins, Ph.D]
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