Hot, Dry Start to September in Illinois

Illinois and the rest of the Midwest are off to a hot start in September. As the map below shows, areas in shades of brown were up to 9 degrees above average. This includes southern Illinois and much of the southern states in the Midwest. The areas in pinks and red were even farther above average, some 9 to 12 degrees above average. This includes most of the northern half of Illinois, as well as northern Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and most of Michigan.

Cooler and more seasonable weather is expected in Illinois after today.

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2015 Climate by the Numbers in Illinois

Here is a quick update on the statewide monthly temperature and precipitation departures from average for 2015 in Illinois.

February 2015 stands out as a painful reminder of how cold it was late in the winter. However, both April and May have been warmer than average. All together, the average temperature of the first five months of 2015 stands at 40.5 degrees, 2.3 degrees below average.

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Monthly Temperature and Precipitation for 2015 in Illinois

How things are shaping up in 2015? The outstanding features so far are the extremely cold February and the extremely wet conditions in southern Illinois while dry elsewhere.

Monthly Temperature Departures from Average

Blue means colder than average, red means warmer than average. Temperature departures from average tend to cover very large areas, making the statewide average temperature departure a good indicator of conditions around Illinois.

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Monthly Precipitation Departures from Average

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