So far, October in Illinois has been both warmer and drier than normal. As of October 19, the statewide average temperature was 59.8 degrees, 1 degree warmer than normal. The statewide average rainfall was only 0.22 inches, 12 percent of normal. See table below.
If this were July, the dryness would be a major source of concern. However, the impacts are much less in fall. In fact, the warm, dry weather aided in the maturing and harvesting of corn and soybeans. At the moment, the impacts are mostly focused on:
- winter wheat – farmers are waiting on rains for germination;
- landscaping – trees and shrubs may need more water before winter arrives;
- fall color – I’ve noticed that the fall colors on trees and shrubs this year are muted with lots of shades of brown and yellow.
The NWS forecast shows a weather system moving through Illinois over the weekend. The potential rainfall amounts from this system range from 0.25 inches along the Wabash River in south-eastern Illinois to 1.25 inches in north-central Illinois. Another system is expected to move into the region on Tuesday/Wednesday. So the current dry weather may be short-lived.
Illinois
10/01/2010 to 10/19/2010
Climate <------Temperature-----> <---------Precipitation--------->
Division Actual Normal Dev Actual Normal Dev Percent
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northwest 55.2 53.4 1.9 0.09 1.82 -1.73 5
Northeast 55.8 53.7 2.0 0.27 1.82 -1.56 15
West 57.6 56.3 1.4 0.10 1.90 -1.80 5
Central 56.7 55.7 1.0 0.22 1.86 -1.64 12
East 56.0 55.4 0.6 0.38 1.86 -1.48 20
West-southwest 58.0 57.5 0.5 0.13 1.72 -1.60 7
East-southeast 58.4 57.8 0.6 0.28 1.92 -1.65 14
Southwest 58.9 58.9 0.0 0.23 1.85 -1.63 12
Southeast 59.8 59.2 0.6 0.35 1.84 -1.49 19
State 57.3 56.3 1.0 0.22 1.84 -1.62 12
Dev means Deviation From Normal, Percent means Percent of Normal