Champaign-Urbana Hit 101 Today

We officially hit 101 degrees today here in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, according to the long-term site at the Illinois State Water Survey. That’s the warmest we have been since August 18, 1988. However, it does not beat the record for this date, which was 104 degrees set in 1901.

0 Replies to “Champaign-Urbana Hit 101 Today”

  1. I would like to know where the sensor is located and if it conforms with the National Weather Service Instruction regarding placement, exposure and equipment as I doubt (1) it truly reached 101F according to NWS standards and (2) CMI is technically the official reporting station for Champaign-Ubana and it ‘only’ reached 97F yesterday.

  2. Actually the site at the Illinois State Water Survey is the official site for Champaign-Urbana. We use National Weather Service equipment, siting, and procedures. If you go to http://www.isws.illinois.edu/atmos/statecli/cuweather/index.htm, you can see all the observations back to 1888. On the right-hand side is a virtual tour of our weather instruments (old and new). So I can confirm that it officially reached 101 yesterday.
    Willard Airport (CMI) is not considered the official site for Champaign-Urbana because of its much shorter record and because it is farther south. However, the airport observations are automated and updated every hour. Therefore, the media sometimes treats them as “official” out of convenience.
    The difference of 4 degrees between the two sites is interesting. Our site is located in a mowed grass area in a field of unmowed grass. The ground is dry and the grass is turning brown. So we have lost the cooling effect of evaporation and transpiration. The airport site is a small grassy area surrounding by either corn or soybeans. Those crops are still transpiring because of their deeper roots. It may be just enough to keep it from being as hot as our site.

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