Still no drought, but the Illinois Valley was dry in June

The Illinois Valley remains dry thanks to June rains that came up a little short of average in Illinois – even as much of the Midwest had catastrophic flooding.

The U.S. Drought Monitor updated regional conditions Wednesday, and these show most of Bureau County and all of Putnam County labeled “abnormally dry.” The northwest quarter of La Salle County also was dry. None of the counties in northern Illinois are in a drought, however.

The Illinois state climatologist issued his June report Wednesday. Trent Ford said June is “typically one of the wettest months of the year in Illinois,” but the Land of Lincoln this year didn’t get the soaking experienced in states to the north.

“This year, however, the dominant weather pattern in the eastern United States was a large and persistent ridge that built up a big high-pressure system over the mid-South and Southeast,” Ford said. “The result was a persistent parade of storm systems into the upper Midwest, causing catastrophic flooding in Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota, and largely hot and dry conditions in the Southeast.

“As is often the case, Illinois was caught in between these two extremes, and June [was] near to slightly wetter than normal in northern Illinois, and drier than normal in central and southern Illinois.”

Ford published a map showing that the local area had less rain than a normal June – at least 2.24 inches below average.

The dry conditions bear watching because there was, as of Thursday, limited rain in the forecast. The region enjoyed only a sprinkling on the morning of the Fourth of July, and only Monday, July 8, shows any significant chance of rain.

Farmers aren’t panicking over the drier-than-average June, but David Isermann, president of the La Salle County Farm Bureau, said corn growers would welcome a good drenching.

“Moderate temperatures and small rainfall have helped,” Isermann said. “Corn is getting its roots down to deeper moisture except on poorer ground or compacted areas. Beans have slowed growth to conserve moisture. When temperatures return to hot weather, we’ll need generous rains.

“Temps and rainfall in July are the most important for corn. Beans can hold on until August if they get some minimal rains to hang on.”

Dry conditions certainly didn’t hurt La Salle County tourism. Starved Rock State Park finished June with 269,011 visitors (2% below average), while Matthiessen State Park toppled a seven-year-old record for June, reeling in 71,082 visitors.

Starved Rock has had a good but not great year – no records set in seven straight quarters – but is on pace for a solid 2.2 million visitors. Matthiessen now has set two straight monthly records, and July likely will make it three straight thanks to brisk interest in the sunflower field. Look for Matthiessen to enjoy another year with a half-million visitors.