November 2015 – Page 3 – Illinois State Climatologist

November 12, 2015

USDA Project Releases Corn Split Nitrogen Application Decision Tool

The USDA-funded Useful to Usable (U2U) project has released their split Nitrogen application decision tool for corn across the Corn Belt. The Corn Split N tool combines historical weather and fieldwork data with economic considerations to determine the feasibility and profitability of completing a second (split) N application within a user-specified time period. Check it out at www.agclimate4u.org under the “decision support tools”.

Screen shot with default values for Champaign County, Illinois

The user guide can be found here.

Continue reading “USDA Project Releases Corn Split Nitrogen Application Decision Tool”

November 10, 2015

November, Starting Warm and Dry in Illinois

November is starting out warm and dry for Illinois. The statewide average temperature is 6.1 degrees above average, while statewide precipitation is at 0.8 inches (75% of average).

The map below shows that precipitation is fairly widespread across the state. Meanwhile, lower precipitation totals prevailed in states to the west. Wetter conditions have occurred across southern Missouri and across the Ohio River Valley.

Here are how past Novembers have fared in terms of temperature and precipitation. No trends in precipitation; however, the 1980s and 1990s were wetter. There is a slight tendency towards warmer Novembers in the last 35 years. However, 2014 proved to be the exception with the 4th coldest November on record. Continue reading “November, Starting Warm and Dry in Illinois”

November 2, 2015

October Warmer and Drier than Average in Illinois

October ended up warmer and drier than average in Illinois. The statewide average temperature was 55.8 degrees, 1.7 degrees above average.

The statewide average precipitation was 1.47 inches, 1.79 inches below average and the 22nd driest October on record. Even so, there were a few areas on the border with Iowa and Kentucky that received 2 to 3 inches of precipitation (dark blue in map below). The two largest monthly totals came from Stockton IL (COOP) and Orion IL (IL-HY-1), both reporting totals of 3.47 inches of precipitation.

The outlook for November, according to the National Weather Service, shows an increased chance for above-average temperatures across Illinois and the Midwest. The outlook shows an increased for above-average precipitation for the southern two-thirds of Illinois. This is part of broad area of expected wetter conditions across the southern US. Meanwhile, the northern third of Illinois has equal chances (EC) for above, below, and near-average precipitation. Click on the maps to enlarge.