The first 10 days of October have been warm, dry, and sunny in Illinois. The statewide average temperature is 61.3 degrees, 3.8 degrees above average.
The statewide average precipitation is zero. Only a handful of sites in far western Illinois have reported anything. The highest total so far in the state was 0.44 inches from a CoCoRaHS site near Carthage, Illinois.
The driest October on record in Illinois was 1964 with only 0.20 inches for the entire month. Last year (2010) was the 19th driest October with only 1.35 inches. However, October 2009 was second wettest with 8.40 inches.
Here is a look at how October precipitation has behaved since 1895 in Illinois. The green dots are the individual years. The alternating brown and green shaded area show below and above average precipitation, respectively. The average is based on the period of record (1895-2010). You can see a lot of year to year variability in the numbers and no clear long-term trends.
