On Thursday, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released their outlooks for September and the 3-month period of September – November. For Illinois, they foresee an increased risk of above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation in September. Also, they foresee an increased risk of above-normal temperatures for September – November. They are taking a neutral stand on fall precipitation, saying that there are equal chances of above, below and near-normal precipitation.
The other news they have is that their drought outlook (second figure) shows expected improvement in the drought north of Interstate 74 in the upcoming months. Some improvement is expected in southern Illinois. However, they expect drought to persist in western Illinois through at least the end of November.
