May 16 | Weekly Markets and Climate Review
The second full week in May brought summer heat to the Midwest. Average temperatures this week ranged from the high 50s in northern Illinois to the low 70s in southern Illinois, between 2 and 8 degrees above normal. Significant early season heat late in the week was noteworthy, as temperatures reached into the low to mid 90s statewide. Combined with high humidity, heat index values approached the triple digits. Thursday’s high of 93 degrees broke the previous May 15th record at O’Hare Airport, set back in 1962.
As is often the case, the late week heat brought severe weather. Dozens of wind and hail reports came in on Thursday night from northern and central Illinois, including 2 inch hail in Bureau County and Lake County, and 60 to 70 mph wind gusts that caused tree and powerline damage from Rock Island to Chicago. Thursday’s storms did not bring a lot of rain to Illinois, but added to an active storm track in the southern half of the state. 7-day precipitation totals ranged from less than a quarter of an inch around the Quad Cities to over 2 inches in southeast Illinois. May has been quite wet in southern and south-central parts of the state, following a top 5 wettest April on record.
Looking ahead, temperatures will again reach into the 80s and 90s on Friday, sparking another round of severe weather on Friday evening, this time in southern Illinois. Beyond that, we’re going to see a quick transition into a cooler pattern that will last all of next week. Temperatures next weekend may struggle to get out of the 60s, making for what could be quite a nice Memorial Day weekend. Next week will also continue our active storm track, bringing multiple rounds of rain and potential thunderstorms. Forecasted 7-day totals range from 1.5 inches in northeast Illinois to potentially up to 4 inches around the St. Louis area. The wetter weather is good news for folks in northern and central Illinois who have had good spring fieldwork weather so far. However, the wet and cool weather next week is not what the doctor ordered in south-central Illinois, especially around the I-64 corridor.
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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 Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing, Greg Johnson from TGM, and Arlan Suderman of StoneX.
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.