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An extremely dry end to summer and start to fall has intensified
the ongoing drought in central and southern Illinois and
increased the fire and blowing dust risk as we approach harvest,
according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford with the
Prairie Research Institute. River levels have dropped near or
below low stage, including on the Kaskaskia, Sangamon, and
Mackinaw, among others.
August was extremely dry in much of southern and south-central
Illinois, including in the western reaches of the St. Louis
Metro East area, where virtually no rain fell. The extreme
dryness and mid-month heat ushered in a rapid onset or “flash”
drought in southern Illinois, rapidly drying soils and
vegetation.
The quick dryness has contrasted with the extremely wet spring
southern Illinois experienced. In fact, 2025 has been a top 20
wettest year on record through August in several counties,
including Lawrence and Massac, despite the recent intense
drought.
In east-central Illinois, August added to what has been an
extremely dry year. To date, 2025 has been the 12th driest on
record in Champaign County, 7 inches below normal, and has been
the driest year to date in Champaign-Urbana since 1988.
Root zone soil moisture has been depleted because of the
below-normal rainfall. Soil moisture at 4-inch and 8-inch depths
at the Illinois Climate Network station in Brownstown has
quickly declined well below the wilting point and level of
severe drought over the last month. This soil moisture decline
has occurred following an extremely heavy rain event in July
where the station picked up more than 5 inches of rain in less
than 12 hours.
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The combination of drought and mid-August heat has also sped up
crop dry-down and likely affected some yields in the driest
parts of the state.
Water table levels have also dropped across the southern half of
the state as soil moisture is depleted. Water table levels at
the Illinois State Water Survey’s WARM station in Peoria dropped
more than 5 feet between July 1 and Sept. 1.
Written by Dr. Trent Ford, Illinois State
Climatologist
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