April Was Interesting Weather Month in Illinois

BY JIM TAYLOR, FARMWEEKNOW.COM

How do you summarize a month that included a 90-degree-day in Cahokia, an 8-inch snow event in Aledo and 6 to 8 inches of rain for the month in portion of Tazewell and Mason counties?

“It has been a wild month,” Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford said during a Tuesday visit with RFD Radio. “April is typically pretty variable.”

He calls it a “transition month” for Illinois, moving from out of winter and into spring. “So because of that, the position of the jet stream can really make for a lot of variability,” Ford said. “Overall for most of the state, April has been slightly drier than normal except for a small pocket of the state between Jacksonville and Pontiac, where it’s been a little bit wetter than normal.”

In the southern part of the state, 12 counties have experienced 50% of normal April precipitation.

“Topsoils down there are a little bit drier,” Ford said. “However that area of the state was very very wet in March and in February, so it’s likely that drier than normal April has helped to dry out conditions and help farmers get their field work done.”