•September 30, 2015•

Soil moisture levels rose across Illinois the second week of September as the state saw increased rainfall and cooler soil temperatures, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

Stations in the Illinois Climate Network (ICN) reported an average of 1.58 inches of rain from September 8 to 11, with stations in Springfield, Carbondale, and Brownstown (Fayette County) recording more than 3.50 inches during the time period.

The higher rainfall led to increases in soil moisture. On average, levels at two inches increased 54 percent from September 7 to 11 to a two-week high of 0.33 water fraction by volume (wfv). Levels declined slightly to an average of 0.27 wfv on September 15, well above the wilting point for most soil types. Similar trends were seen at depths of four and eight inches.      Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.