Sep 05 | Weather Update and Markets Review
by Trent Ford, State Climatologist
ISWS PRI University of Illinois
Another beautiful weather week in Illinois as we transition from summer to fall. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 60s to low 70s, between 1 and 7 degrees below normal. Although we didn’t see nighttime lows dip into the 30s yet, we did get 40 degrees in Stockton and 42 in Monmouth. The cool end to summer was welcome after an extremely hot and humid season. This summer was right around 2 degrees warmer than normal statewide, and will likely be a top 15 warmest on record. Persistent humidity kept summer nighttime temperatures very high. In fact, the average summer nighttime low temperature in Peoria was the second highest on record, only less than 2010.
This past week was mostly dry as well, continuing a streak of dry weather conditions across much of the state. 7-day totals ranged from virtually no rain in southern Illinois to just over 1 inch in parts of northwest and east-central Illinois. The lack of rain has been a problem for southern Illinois going back to July. In fact, last month was the driest August on record in Carbondale, Mt Vernon, Centralia, and Charleston, and was a top 5 driest for most places south of I-72. The dryness has been noted by an expansion of both moderate and severe drought in this week’s US Drought Monitor.
Looking ahead, another cold front moves through the state early this weekend, dropping low temperatures into the 40s and 50s, while highs will struggle to make it out of the mid-70s. A gradual warm up next week will lead to highs in the upper 80s by next weekend, and we may see a return to the 90s in southern Illinois. Next week also looks very dry, with forecasted totals mostly less than a quarter of an inch statewide. The outlooks for the second full week of the month also show best chances of warmer and drier than normal weather sticking around. This is not good news for burgeoning drought in southern and central Illinois but will be conducive to harvest. That said, the dry conditions increase the risk of field fires, so folks should take care to make sure equipment is well cleaned and that you have a plan in case of ignition.
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WILLAg.org radio programming for the work week ending September 05, 2025
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 Logan Kimmel with RoachAg.com, Mike Zuzolo of GlobalCommResearch.com, and John Zanker at RMCommodities.com.
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.