CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Based on preliminary data, the statewide average temperature for spring in Illinois was 55.3 degrees, 3.3 degrees above normal and the fourth warmest spring on record. Warmer than normal conditions prevailed in all three spring months of March (2.5 degrees above), April (6.2 degrees above), and May (1.3 degrees above), according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

The statewide rainfall for spring in Illinois was 12.0 inches, just 0.7 inches above normal. This was much less than the 15.8 inches that fell in the spring of 2009 and the 14.2 inches that fell in the spring of 2008.

Based on preliminary data in Illinois, the statewide average temperature for May was 64.1 degrees, 1.3 degrees above normal. The statewide average precipitation for May was 5.7 inches, 1.4 inches above normal. The heaviest rain amounts for the month were in western Illinois between Quincy and the Quad Cities. Dallas City, along the Mississippi River, reported 9.07 inches for the month.

The latest National Weather Service outlook for this summer (June–August) calls for an increased chance of below normal temperatures across Illinois. Illinois has an equal chance of above, below, and near normal precipitation. 

"So far this month has been both warmer and wetter than normal as of June 10. Temperatures are 3 degrees above normal and the statewide average rainfall is 2.3 inches," concludes Angel.

The Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a division of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability, is the primary agency in Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources.