Here are the monthly temperature and precipitation departures from the long-term average by month in Illinois for 2013. After a warmer-than-average January, temperatures have been below-average in February, March, and April. Monthly precipitation has been above-average in January, February, and April, but slightly below-average in March. This is a far cry from the first four […]
Read More from Temperatures and Precipitation By Month in 2013
Precipitation The first figure shows the statewide precipitation departures by month for both 1988 (blue) and 2012 (red) in Illinois, using the 1981-2010 average as normal. There are several interesting features: the period from January to March was actually drier in 2012 than 1988; the 1988 drought started abruptly in April with dramatically less precipitation; […]
The current drought condition has many similarities with 1988. Here is the departure from normal precipitation for the Midwest from April 1 to July 2 for 2012 (left) and for 1988 (right). Areas in green are doing well. Areas in blue are having to deal with flooding issues. Areas in yellow are dry, and areas […]
Read More from Dry Across the Midwest – 2012 Compared to 1988