THE STATE CLIMATOLOGIST SAYS IT’S BEEN A DRY AND MILD START TO FALL SO FAR IN ILLINOIS. 

LAST MONTH’S STATEWIDE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE CAME IN AT NEARLY 67 DEGREES, MAKING IT THE 57TH WARMEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD IN ILLINOIS. STATE CLIMATOLOGIST TRENT FORD SAYS TEMPS VARIED QUITE A BIT THOUGH.

EARLY TO MID-SEPTEMBER BROUGHT MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF HEAVY RAIN TO NORTHERN, WESTERN AND EAST-CENTRAL ILLINOIS. BUT OVERALL, PRECIPITATION WAS DOWN BY MORE THAN HALF AN INCH LAST MONTH, WITH VERY LITTLE RECENT RAIN SAYS STATE CLIMATOLOGIST TRENT FORD.

THERE WAS ONE VERY WARM WEEK LAST MONTH BEFORE IT COOLED OFF AND THE AVERAGE STATEWIDE TEMPERATURE WAS MORE THAN HALF A DEGREE ABOVE NORMAL.