State Climatologist Justin Glisan says the month that just ended will be one of the warmer Septembers in the state weather book. “So we’re about 67 degrees as the average temperature for the state, and that’s almost four degrees above average,” Glisan says. “So looking at the preliminary record going back 151 years, looks like we’ll be in the top 20 warmest September’s on record.” Glisan says the final week of September really impacted the final number. “The last seven days we averaged almost 10 degrees above average,” he says. Glisan says September’s precipitation total didn’t do a lot to help pull the state out of the drought.

“We’re about one-point-four-two (1.42) inches below average on the precipitation side. Typically we’re about three and a half inches and we were about two inches over the last 30 days,” he says. Glisan says the short-term forecasts are signaling continued dry weather. “And then with that warmer temperature signal, a dry signal as well for the first half of the month. Looking at the overall climate prediction center outlooks, we see above average chances for warmer conditions for the entire month — but equal chances — we’re right in between wetter chances to our west and very dry conditions possible in the eastern part of the Corn Belt, right in the middle. So equal chances of above below or near average,” Glisan says.

He says that outlook is for the next seven to ten days.