Early August weather should be normal. Last week featured temperatures that were a few degrees below normal – while the western two-thirds of the state received little to no rainfall. August means the return of hot and humid conditions says State Climatologist Jim Angel with the Illinois State Water Survey. He says good things must come to an end. “We’ll soon be getting into the hot and humid weather we know and love in Illinois,” Angel said. “We’ll get back up into the 80s – something we would expect for this time of year. It looks like a very hot start to August. Even the 6-10 day and 8-14 day forecast shows that we’ll see that warming continue out.” Angel says rain has been spotty throughout most parts of Illinois over the last seven days with the exception of a couple areas in central and southern Illinois over the weekend. But Illinois has been exceptionally dry the past 90 days. Meanwhile Illinois as a whole is in better shape that Missouri or Southern Iowa where the U.S. drought monitor points to severe to exceptional drought.
