This summer was one of the warmest and wettest in Illinois history, according to preliminary data from the Illinois State Water Survey.
State Climatologist Jim Angel reports that the statewide average temperature for June through August -- meteorological summer -- was 76.4 degrees, 2.7 degrees above normal. That made it the seventh warmest summer on record according to records that date back to 1895.
The average rainfall was 16.7 inches, 5.2 inches above normal. That was the sixth wettest summer. The ISWS said the heaviest rains were in western and northern Illinois. Bentley in Hancock County reported the most with 28.5 inches; nine other sites reported over two feet of rain.
The wettest summer on record was 1993 with 18.3 inches, according to the agency. The warmest summer was 1936 with a 78.6-degree average.
Angel told Associated Press that the remarkable part about summer 2010 has been the humidity: usually in Illinois, wet weather is accompanied by cool temperatures and hot weather is dry.
"This has the unusual situation of being both very wet and very warm," Angel said.
Despite the temperatures, nobody in the state experienced "catastrophic heat waves," although some cities went for weeks without the temperature dropping below 80 degrees.
"So it wasn't like super hot," he said. "Just consistently warm conditions."
The survey said August's average temperature (76.8 degrees) was 3.2 degrees above normal, making it the 13th warmest August. A late-month period of cool weather pushed it down the list.
August rainfall, with a statewide average of 3.4 inches, was just 0.3 inches below normal, but large areas in east-central and southern Illinois got way less than that, according to the survey. Champaign had 1.64 inches for the month.
According to a release from the agency, the National Weather Service is forecasting an increased chance of warmer-than-normal temperatures for Illinois in September. The precipitation outlook is neutral, with an equal chances of above, below, and near-normal rainfall. Far northern Illinois, however, has a slightly higher chance of above-normal rainfall.
The Illinois State Water Survey, located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a division of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability. It describes itself as the primary agency in Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources.
The headline should be amended: Hottest, wettest in 142 years, not "ever".
The Earth has been around for what, 6 billion years? We've been tracking temperatures and precipitation for 142 of those. I wouldn't say this is a good sampling and trying to draw conclusions from this data is ridiculous. The Earth has warmed, cooled, flooded, quaked, etc. Is the climate changing? Absolutely and it has been for all of those 6 billion+ years..and will continue to do so with no help or interference from mankind.
RE:Joeschmoe: "...and will continue to do so with no help or interference from mankind."
While JS is correct about constant change in climate over geological time, s/he is absolutely wrong about humankind's not being able to influence both weather and climate. We've already done so over the millennia through use of agriculture, clear cutting forests, and release of CFCs into the atmosphere, for example. You vastly underestimate the power of fools working in concert, JS! Who knows what else we'll be able to "accomplish" if we continue to not put our minds to it. BTW -- I think earth's only been here about 4.5 - 4.8 billion years old or so. I hate premature aging.
Clearly liberal propaganda. This summer was nice and mild, and there is no need for any government regulation.
Palin/Jindal 2012!
I love the Tribune message boards, don't you?