CHAMPAIGN, Ill., 4/19/22: Illinois soils remain cooler and wetter than normal in mid-April, 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 averaged 48 degrees on April 17, 8 degrees less than in 2021 and 7 degrees lower than the long-term average. Cooler weather in April and wetter soils have kept temperatures lower. While daily soil temperature highs have reached the 50s, the lows remain in the 30s and 40s. 

Temperatures have increased only 3 degrees since April 1 compared to 7 degrees on average. Lower soil temperatures have been reported throughout the state, ranging from 43 degrees in western Illinois to 51 degrees in the south.

Soil moisture remains high after a wet March and near normal precipitation so far in April. At 4 inches, levels averaged 0.37 water fraction by volume (wfv), at or near field capacity for most of the soils monitored. There has been little overall change in the first half of the month. 

The wettest soils are in the south where levels averaged 0.42 wfv on April 17, above field capacity for the soils monitored. The region remains soggy after a wet start to 2022 as several locations have seen precipitation more than 5 inches greater than normal.

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/).

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