A cooler and wetter September was the lead in to the harvest kick off for October.

     Rainfall of the month was a 3 and 71 hundredths inches. That’s about a quarter inch more than normal.

     There was precipitation on 13 of the 30 days. The heaviest was the inch and a half over a two day period starting September 12^th. There was no frost in September.

     Rainfall for the year is now 9 and quarter inches above normal. This station has received 34 and 44 hundredths inches through September. Just two months have been below normal rain, June and August.

     Temperatures for the month were slightly below normal. The reporting station here at WLDS-WEAI averaged 65 and a half degrees. That’s a full degree cooler than normal.

     Readings ranged from 89 on the 4^th, to 39 on the 19^th and 20^th.

     A typical day in September this year saw a high of 78 and 53.

     There were 8 nights under 50, and 14 days at 80 or better.

     WLDS-WEAI is an official reporting station for the National Weather Service.

One teen was killed and another injured in a single vehicle accident that followed a brief police chase early this morning east of Jacksonville.

     Morgan County sheriff Mike Carmody is not releasing either of the names pending the notification of next of kin. He did say both were 19. One is from Jacksonville, and the other, pronounced dead at the scene, is from Missouri.

     Carmody said the chase began about 3 AM when a Morgan County patrol car was westbound on Morton, and an eastbound vehicle was travelling at a high rate of speed at the viaduct on East Morton. The squad car activated its lights.

     Carmody said the other vehicle stopped, did a 180 degree turn, and fled westbound on Morton. The police car followed, but lost the vehicle when the driver shut off its lights.

     Carmody said it was last seen travelling east on 36.

     He said 9-1-1 dispatch then received a call about 15 minutes later, reporting an accident off Witty Road on the railroad tracks.

     Carmody says the vehicle left the blacktop and turned onto the tracks. He believes the driver lost control, and the vehicle struck a pole.

     The driver, who was found walking along the road, was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield where he is being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

     Carmody believes alcohol was involved in the accident. Tickets may be issued pending further investigation.

     Route 36 was closed for a period of time this morning early while state police officers did an accident re-construction.

WLDS-WEAI would like to issue a correction to a news story that ran on our stations last Friday.

     It’s with regards to the number of layoffs in the Memorial Health Systems.

     WLDS-WEAI news noted in the story that there were 143 layoffs throughout the system, which includes Passavant Hospital and four other hospitals.

     WLDS news further reported that 29 workers from Passavant Hospital were part of the layoffs, and named Passavant CEO Dr. Scott Boston as the source of the quote.

     But, Dr. Boston did not release the information to WLDS news.

     WLDS-WEAI and our news department apologizes for the error.

Mother Nature turned off the rainfall spigot for August.

     Rainfall for the month hit just over an inch, specifically, 1 and 5 hundredths inches. That’s a full 2 and a quarter inches short of normal.

     There was measurable precipitation on just 8 of the 31 days. The heaviest was 55-hundredths on the 11^th.

     But, let’s not shed too many tears. Rainfall and precipitation for the year is now at 30 and 3 quarter inches. That’s still 5 inches above normal.

     The average temperature for last month was 72 degrees. That’s nearly 3 degrees cooler than normal.

     The top reading last month hit above 90 six times, topping out at 94 on the 26^th. The mercury dipped below 60 11 times. The coolest was 49 on the 30^th, the only time the mercury fell below 50 in August.

     The hottest stretch for the month was on 24^th through the 29^th, when temperatures reached 90 or better on 5 of the six days.

     WLDS-WEAI is an official observer for the national weather service.

The Jacksonville area was left a big soggy from the July rainfall.

     The total precipitation for July was 5 and 85 hundredths inches. That’s 2 and 2 tenths inches more than normal.

     There was some precipitation on 17 of the 31 days last month. There was 1 or more inches of rain on two of the days, and the month opened with 2 and 11 tenths inches on the first four days.

     The month was warm, too. The average temperature was just over 77 degrees. That’s about a degree hotter than normal.

     There were no record highs or lows. The mercury never dipped below 60 in July, and hit 90 or better on 11 of the 31 days.

     The heat was turned on on the 5^th, when the mercury hit 90 or better on six straight days, and 7 of 8 days overall.

     A typical high last month was 87, and a low was 67. The hottest day was 92 on five days. The coolest was 64 on the 24^th.

     Precipitation for the year continues to run above normal. Usually, Jacksonville has about 22 and a half inches of rain through July. This year, the total is about 7 and a quarter inches more. The total precipitation for 2020 now stands at 29 and two thirds inches.

     WLDS-WEAI is a cooperative reporting weather station for the National Weather Service.