CHAMPAIGN, Ill., 6/17/21:   Warmer weather has led to higher than normal soil temperatures for Illinois in June, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey.

Soil temperatures at 4 inches under bare soil rose 13 degrees in the first half of June. Temperatures averaged 81 degrees across the state on June 15, 6 degrees warmer than last year and 8 degrees higher than the historical average. Daily highs reached the high 90s and low 100s for most of the state.

Temperatures have been steadily rising throughout the month in all regions. However, in a change from the usual patterns, soils in southern Illinois have been cooler than those in other regions. Cooler and wetter weather in the south caused soil temperatures to run 4 degrees lower than in the northern and central regions in the first ten days of June. 

Soil moisture at 4 inches has declined 17 percent on average in Illinois in the first half of June. The largest drops have been in the north and west where moisture levels fell 30 and 31 percent, respectively. Levels averaged 0.16 water fraction by volume (wfv) on June 15, near the wilting points for most of the soils monitored.

In the south, soil moisture remained high. Moisture levels declined 4 percent to an average of 0.33 wfv on June 15 for the region.

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 (http://www.isws.illinois.edu/warm/) and in the Illinois Water and Climate Summary (http://www.isws.illinois.edu/warm/climate.asp). 

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