CHAMPAIGN, Ill., 4/16/24: Warm weather has continued into April, impacting soil temperatures, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey.

Soil temperatures at 4 inches under sod averaged 59 degrees on April 14 in Illinois, 6 degrees warmer than the long-term average. Temperatures have been steadily climbing for most of the month, rising 4 degrees from April 1.

This follows the trend seen for most of 2024 with warmer weather causing significantly hotter soils. On average, soil temperatures reach 50 degrees in Champaign on April 14. This year, the Illinois Climate Network station in Champaign recorded 51 degrees on February 27.

Under bare soil, temperatures averaged 63 degrees in mid-April, 10 degrees above normal.

Soil moisture levels at 4 inches averaged 0.35 water fraction by volume (wfv) on April 14, slightly below field capacity for most measured soils and equal to the long-term average for mid-April. The highest levels are in southern and eastern Illinois where levels increased by more than 10 percent so far this month, while the west and north have had overall decreases.

The Illinois State Water Survey’s WARM program collects hourly and daily weather and soil information at 19 stations across the state. Daily and monthly summaries can be found at the WARM website (https://warm.isws.illinois.edu/warm/).

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Media Contact: Jennie Atkins, Ph.D. - (217) 333-4966, jatkins@illinois.edu