You're Right; May Was A Red-Hot Month

BY DAN GRANT, FARM WEEK NOW

Farmers and other Illinoisans are probably still trying to figure out what happened to spring after a dramatic shift in weather patterns the past two months.

The heat wave in May, which featured high temperatures in the upper 90s, officially set a record for the month with an average statewide temperature of 70.6 degrees, a whopping 8 degrees above normal.

“It was the warmest May on record,” said Jim Angel, state climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey. “There’s probably no surprise there as the temperature in many places was above average every day due to unrelenting warmth.

“It was unlike April, which pretty much every day was below normal,” he noted. “We had a big reversal on the temperature trend.”

April was the second-coldest on record in Illinois with an average temperature of just 44.7 degrees. So, the swing in the temperature average from April to May was 25.9 degrees.

Precipitation in May averaged about 4 inches, which was close to normal. But rainfall certainly was not consistent throughout the state.

“It (rainfall amounts) varied widely across the state,” Angel said. “Some areas of northern counties got 6 to 10 inches, while some spots in central and southeast Illinois have been dry. A real game changer late in the month was (Tropical Storm) Alberto.”

Remnants of the Gulf storm slammed parts of the state this week with heavy rainfall (including 4 to 6 inches near Peoria) and strong winds. Portions of the state subsequently experienced flash flooding, field ponding and downed tree limbs while others remain on the dry side.

The forecast appears warm and dry this month, with rain chances possibly returning later in June.

“It looks like the heat will continue. All of the forecasts indicate an increased chance of above-normal temperatures for June,” Angel said. “Precipitation looks like a mixed bag.”