4th Coldest November in Illinois – More Statistics

The National Climatic Data Center released their November report, confirming that Illinois experienced it’s 4th coldest November on record as reported here.

Is the extremely cold November part of the trend? Apparently not. A look at November temperatures in Illinois since 1895 show that November temperatures have warmed by slightly more than 2 degrees since 1895. There are only a few cases of back-to-back cold November’s including 1910-11, 1950-51, and 1995-96.

You can see the interactive graph and the data behind it here.

november-tsHere is how Illinois stacked up to the rest of the country in terms of ranking November temperatures – several states in the central and eastern regions made the top ten list.

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2 Replies to “4th Coldest November in Illinois – More Statistics”

  1. Hi Jim. I’ve got a question for you that relates to sub-soil water penetration levels. If a soil, on a flat field is completely dry, how many inches of rain have to occur for water to get down to the level where it will not trans-evaporate out? I recognize that this will depend upon soil type, temperature and the speed of the rain, but are you aware of any studies that provide this information or give some examples? As someone that has farmland, I wonder sometimes if the soil is getting wet 7-8 feet down? Not sure how long it takes to get down there and how much water is needed. Thanks.

  2. That’s a hard question to answer because it does depend on the soil type, drainage, time of year, and how the rain falls. A very rough estimate is that if the soil was bone dry, then it takes about 2 to 3 inches of rain to recharge each foot of soil.And you have to start at the top and work your way down. First the topsoil recovers then the water starts to work downward from there. Those deeper layers are slow to dry out and also slow to catch back up.

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