Spring was Illinois' fourth warmest

CHAMPAIGN -- This spring was the fourth warmest in recorded Illinois history, the Illinois State Water Survey said Friday.

The statewide average temperature for March, April and May was 55.3 degrees, state climatologist Jim Angel said. That's more than 3 degrees higher than normal.

Statewide spring rainfall was 12 inches. That's just below normal.

Angel said June so far has been warmer than normal. "And wetter than normal as of June 10," he said.

Temperatures are 3 degrees above normal and the statewide average rainfall is 2.3 inches, Angel said.

The heaviest rain in May and into June has been in western Illinois between Quincy and the Quad Cities.

Monmouth in western Illinois, for instance, has reported nearly a foot of rain since Memorial Day. So much rain has fallen that the town's aging sewer system is having trouble, and that's led to sinkholes.

The National Weather Service's outlook for this summer calls for below-normal temperatures, with equal chance of below-normal and above-normal rain.