Mar 06 | Weather Update and Market Review

This week marked a quick transition to spring weather, just as the calendar turned over to March. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 30s in northern Illinois to the high 40s in southern Illinois, between 1 and 6 degrees above average. Many places saw high temperatures reach into the 70s, including highs of 77 in Cahokia Heights and 74 in Springfield. This follows the month of February that was right around 1 degree warmer than normal statewide, wrapping up an otherwise colder winter.

by Trent Ford, State Climatologist
ISWS PRI University of Illinois

A much more active storm track set up over the southern Midwest this week, bringing multiple rounds of rain to the southern half of Illinois, including some very heavy rainfall. 7-day rainfall totals ranged from virtually nothing in northwest Illinois to some isolated pockets of 6+ inches in far southern Illinois. The first couple of inches of rain on drought-stricken parts of the state was greatly beneficial to recharge soils and streams, especially in central and south-central Illinois. As is often the case, though, a few places picked up a little too much rain, causing flooding issues in parts of southern Illinois. The Embarras River at Sainte Marie Illinois in Jasper County jumped up 2 feet in less than 48 hours as the southern part of the state was soaked. Meanwhile, much of northern Illinois remained dry this week, and continued to worsen drought conditions, including around the Quad Cities. Moline picked up a whopping 2 hundredths of an inch of rain on Wednesday, ending a 38 day streak of completely dry days, the 3rd longest such streak on record there.

Looking ahead, milder temperatures will remain this weekend and into next week, with repeat highs in the 60s and 70s statewide. A few places may get their first taste of the 80s this week, reminding us that spring is here. But, because it’s still March, the outlooks for mid-month show a regression to colder weather, so don’t pull out the swim suit just yet. On the precipitation side, more rain is expected across the state next week, with 7-day totals ranging from another possible 3 inches in far southern Illinois to around 1.5 in western Illinois. Right now, the forecasts are more bullish for significant rain in northern Illinois this week, too, which would be great news for the areas that missed on the wet stuff last week.

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WILLAg.org radio programming for the work week ending March 06, 2026

Commodity Week can be heard in the 2 o’clock hour central time on WILL AM580 or you may subscribe to it using the links in the player below. This week the panelists include Ellen Dearden of AgReview, Greg Johnson from Total Grain Marketing, and Chip Nellinger with Blue Reef Agri-Marketing.

The Closing Market Report airs at 2:06 p.m. central daily on WILL AM580. It, too, is a podcast. Subscribe using the link in the player.