The latest US Drought Monitor map shows an expanded area in south-central Illinois that is completely drought-free at this point (7% of the state). In general, that area has received 8 to 16 inches of rain since August 1, which is about 4 to 8 inches above normal. The largest station total was 23.38 inches in Grayville, followed by Centralia IL with 20.01 inches.
Meanwhile, western and northern Illinois have not seen significant drought recovery so far this fall. Those areas have received only 2 to 6 inches of rain, where normal rainfall in that region is on the order of 8 inches.
Another thing that has helped recently with the drought situation in Illinois is that temperatures have run below normal since August. Most recently, October 1-10 has been 6 degrees below normal.
