We're halfway through January 2018, and State Climatologist Jim Angel writes that so far it's been colder and snowier than last year, with a statewide average temperature of 16.5 degrees, 7.3 degrees below normal.

A report on the water resources available in the Middle Illinois River water supply planning region is now available (ISWS Contract Report 2018-02). The results of the study are generally positive for the region, with abundant water available for most needs.

Wind speed, precipitation, soil temperatures and pest degree days. Farmers can get those vital statistics and more from the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program (WARM). More than 150,000 visitors--farmers, governmental agencies, industry and academics--regularly check the website at isws.illinois.edu/warm.

Not as warm as 2024, but 2025 was well above the 20th century average temperature and saw nearly 700 records broken for daily high temperatures, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute. Last year also marked the fourth consecutive year of late summer and autumn drought in Illinois.

Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel wonders if it will be a white Christmas here in Illinois.

Despite substantial snowfall in parts of the state, Illinois had a dry December, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

Plenty of cold air was present when winter storms moved through Illinois in the latter half of January, producing some impressive snowfall totals, but also limiting the liquid water content of the snow in a state still in drought, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

David A.R. Kristovich, head of the Water Survey's Climate and Atmospheric Science Section, will speak at a meeting of the Air & Waste Management Association Lake Michigan States Section on May 15. 

The statewide average temperature for October was 59.8 degrees, 5.4 degrees above normal, and the on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

The Illinois temperature for February was 33.2 degrees, 2.3 degrees above average, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

Soil temperatures remained below freezing across most of Illinois during the first five days of March, Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program Manager at the Prairie Research Institute, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

Soil temperatures at 4 inches under bare soil have increased 49 percent during the first half of March, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program Manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

Heat waves that we have experienced recently will likely pale in comparison to what’s ahead in 50 years if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, according to Xin-Zhong Liang, Ph.D., Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) atmospheric scientist at the University of Illinois and assistant professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences.

Increased rainfall led to rises in soil moisture levels during the first half of July, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

The preliminary statewide average September temperature was 68.8 degrees, 2.0 degrees above the 1991–2020 average and tied for the 27th warmest on record going back to 1895. The preliminary statewide total September precipitation was 2.60 inches, 0.75 inches below the 1991–2020 average and the 41^st driest on record. 

Below normal rainfall continued into October in central and northern Illinois, helping harvest progress quickly, as well as creating challenges with dry vegetation and high fire risk, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

If nothing is done about climate change by 2050, Midwest farmers could see their productivity decrease to a level not seen since the 1980s, according to a new report from 13 federal agencies.

As a Cooperating Technical Partner (CTP), the Coordinated Hazard Assessment and Mapping Program of ISWS assesses local flood hazards, identifies high-risk areas, and engages community partners to inform, educate, and empower others to take action in preventing losses from natural hazards.

February was slightly warmer and wetter than average across Illinois, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford.

The statewide average precipitation in Illinois for February was 3.39 inches, 1.46 inches above normal. This ranks as the tenth wettest February since statewide records began in 1895, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

Although April had a few cold stretches, the statewide average temperature for the month was 54.1 degrees, 1.7 degrees above average, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

Warmer weather has led to warmer and drier soils in Illinois, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

Water Survey staff will be demonstrating how contamination moves through groundwater and into private wells and how well pumps work, and will provide free information on testing and maintenance of private wells, in Conservation World from August 10 through August 19.

July was both cooler and wetter than average in Illinois, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

The statewide average temperature for Illinois in July was 77.7 degrees, 1.9 degrees above normal. While it was warm and uncomfortably humid, it was only the 19th warmest July on record, tied with 1986 and 1952, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

Did it seem to you that the weather in October was quite a bit sunnier than in Octobers of the past? Do you remember last October as being rather cloudy?

If these are your impressions, you are correct, according to Bob Scott, Director of the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program at the Illinois State Water Survey. Scott operates an array of weather sites across the state called the Illinois Climate Network, and one of the sensors on the stations measures solar radiation.

The two big rounds of snowfall last month made for a much snowier-than-average November for central and northern Illinois, with some areas getting 8 to 12 inches more than normal, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute.

The statewide average temperature for December 2011 in Illinois was 35.7 degrees, 5.9 degrees above average. This ranked as the ninth warmest December on record with statewide records going back to 1895, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Provisional data show December was among the top 5 warmest on record in Illinois, with no snow on Christmas.

To prevent public health crises that result from widespread lead contamination in drinking water, community water supplies are required to closely monitor their drinking water quality. 

Snowfall was below average in January, but the statewide precipitation—which includes both rain and melted snow—was 3.9 inches, nearly 2 inches above average, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

About half the U.S. population receives its drinking water from wells. Many cities in Illinois, including Champaign-Urbana, Normal, and most of the western and southern suburbs of Chicago, get some or all of their drinking water from groundwater sources. In addition, almost all rural residents use groundwater. During National Groundwater Awareness Week, we want to promote stewardship of this important resource, to protect and conserve it.

The statewide average temperature for March in Illinois was 33.8 degrees, which was 7 degrees below average and the 8th coldest March on record. Combined with the colder-than-average January and February made this the 4th coldest start (23.6 degrees) for Illinois for the year to date, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel at the Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

Based on preliminary data in Illinois, the statewide average temperature for March was 43.6 degrees, 2.5 degrees above normal. This ends a three-month streak of colder than normal temperatures that occurred this winter, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

Soil moisture levels in Illinois are high in the middle of April, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program Manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

The statewide average precipitation for April in Illinois was 7.01 inches, 3.23 inches above normal and the second wettest April on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

The statewide average precipitation for June 2014 in Illinois was 6.78 inches, 2.58 inches above average and the 8th wettest June on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

The average temperature for June in Illinois was 72.8 degrees, 0.9 degrees above normal, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel with the Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

Although recent Illinois weather conditions have been ideal for crops, many areas have been affected by late planting and significant flooding across the state, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey.

The statewide average temperature for July in Illinois was 73.3 degrees, 2 degrees below the 1981-2010 average. It currently ranks as the 19th coolest July on record, dating back to 1895, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

Rainfall was above average in July in Illinois with slightly cooler temperatures and very high humidity, even by recent climate standards, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

Soil moisture levels have improved throughout the state during the first half of October, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program manager at University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

Precipitation was near normal for the month of October in Illinois, at a statewide average of 3.2 inches. The long-term average, or normal, for October is 3.26 inches of precipitation, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

The statewide average precipitation for October in Illinois was 4.5 inches, which is 1.2 inches above average, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

While Illinoisans in the far northern part of the state experienced freezing temperatures early in the month, the official close to the 2008 growing season at most locations occurred on October 28. Cold Canadian air pushed across the Midwest, producing lows that morning in the mid- to upper 20s across Illinois, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

Soil temperatures at 4 inches under bare soil averaged 43.4 degrees on November 14, 4.5 degrees below the long-term average. Daily maximums reached into the low 50s with Fairfield reporting the day’s highest temperature at 52.7 degrees.

The statewide average rainfall for October was 1.4 inches, 1.5 inches below normal. This ranks as the 20th driest October on record, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

The year 2012 will long be remembered for the drought and the exceptionally warm temperatures. While the data for December are still preliminary, 2012 was the second warmest and tenth driest year on record for Illinois, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois.