Some areas of moderate drought are popping up in West Central Illinois.
Last weekend’s series of storms brought rain to most areas across the region, but the heaviest rains fell in tight bands. Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford says it has made for some precipitation disparities: “One band of 2-3″ of rain stretched along Interstate 74 from Peoria to Champaign, while areas 10-20 miles north and south picked up closer to 1″ total. Another band of 3-5″ of rain stretched from Macomb to Taylorville, and areas around Chatham in Sangamon County picked up nearly 8″ of rain total. Meanwhile, parts of northeast and western Illinois saw much lesser totals, persisting dry than normal conditions that go all the way back to the beginning of March. The dryness in western Illinois spurred the expansion of moderate drought in this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor, while some places not too far across the river in Missouri have been downgraded to severe drought.”
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, portions of Adams, Pike, and Calhoun counties are all listed under moderate drought conditions. The remainder of the WLDS/WEAI listening area is currently listed as abnormally dry.
Ford says temperatures this past week have been 3-8 degrees above normal.