Sep 19 | Weather Update and Market Revie
We slipped back into summer this week. Average temperatures ranged from the mid-60s in northern Illinois to the mid-70s in southern Illinois, 4 to 8 degrees above normal. The lack of humidity and extremely dry conditions allowed daytime high temperatures to push well into the 90s this week. Some of the more impressive highs this week included 99 degrees in Alton and Decatur.
by Trent Ford, State Climatologist
ISWS PRI University of Illinois
This week was also very dry yet again across the state. 7-day rain totals ranged from around 1 inch in far northeast Illinois to a big zero for virtually all of central Illinois. Most of the state has had less than 25% of normal rainfall since August 1st, and parts of central and south-central Illinois have had less than 10% of normal rainfall going all the way back to late July. Consequently, soils are extremely dry, many streams are very low, and crops and pasture are drying down quickly. The Drought Monitor expanded both moderate and severe drought across most of the southern half of the state this week. The main drought concerns currently are extremely high field fire risk as harvest ramps up, and low flow on important streams, including the Sangamon and Kaskaskia. Please help us keep on top of the drought by reporting conditions and impacts in your neck of the woods. You can report on go.illinois.edu/cmor.
Looking ahead, forecasts are more bullish for rain across Illinoi than they’ve been in several weeks. 7-day forecasted totals are above 1 inch for the entire state, and reaching 2 to 3 inches for much of central and southern Illinois. Best of all, rain will come over the weekend and early next week via multiple low pressure systems moving through, meaning that we have a good shot at getting some soil moisture recharge from the rain. Any temporary harvest delays will be more than outweighed by beneficial reduction in fire risk. Farther out, the outlooks for the final week of the month keep warmer and wetter than normal conditions around. The latest outlooks for October also show warmer than normal weather likely, with equal chances of above and below normal rainfall.
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WILLAg.org radio programming for the work week ending September 19, 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 Dave Chatterton with Strategic Farm Marketing, Curt Kimmel from AgMarket.net, and Mike Zuzolo at Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting.
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.