Drought in Illinois

Events

1,586

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Damage

$1.5 billion

• Drought in Illinois, September 1 to 30, 2012$982 million · 35 eventsExtreme (D3) to Exceptional (D4) drought conditions that had been ongoing across central and southeast Illinois since June eased significantly during the month of September.
• Drought in Illinois, July 1 to 31, 2005$180 million · 13 eventsThe drought that began back in June 2005 continued through July and into August 2005 and spread into Eastern Iowa and Northeast Missouri.
• Drought in Illinois, October 1 to 31, 2012$178 million · 8 eventsRepeated rainfall throughout the month of October continued to ease the drought conditions across central and southeast Illinois. Most locations picked up 4 to 5 inches of rain during the month, which is over 1 inch above normal.
• Drought in Illinois, September 1 to 30, 2007$66 million · 19 eventsSevere drought conditions that developed late in August persisted through September. The persistent 500 mb high over the southeast and south central U.S. started to break down at times, allowing an increase in rainfall. At Carbondale, the monthly rainfall was 2.19 inches.
• Drought in Illinois, September 1 to 30, 2002$53 million · 19 eventsA prolonged summer drought gradually worsened, becoming severe by early September. Many parts of southern Illinois received little or no measurable rainfall in July.
• Drought in Illinois, August 1 to 31, 2005$48 million · 13 eventsThe 2005 drought that started back in June continued through the month of August 2005 and into September 2005. Severe to extreme drought continued across the northern half of Illinois, eastern third of Iowa, and northeast Missouri.
• Drought in Illinois, July 1 to 31, 201235 eventsAn extended period of dry weather continued to worsen across central and southeast Illinois during the month of July...with most locations reporting monthly rainfall deficits of 2 to 4 inches.
• Drought in Illinois, August 1 to 31, 201235 eventsAn extended period of dry weather continued to worsen across central and southeast Illinois during the month of August. Despite near normal monthly rainfall totals of 3 to 4 inches in many locations...yearly deficits since January 1st remained in the 8 to 13 inch range.
• Drought in Illinois, March 1 to 31, 202634 eventsDue to a multi-month precipitation deficit, accentuated by one of the driest Februarys on record for central and southeast Illinois, Severe (D2) to Extreme (D3) Drought was in place across much of the region at the start of the month.
• Drought in Illinois, February 1 to 28, 202634 eventsA drier than normal winter concluded with one of the driest Februarys on record across central and southeast Illinois. In Lincoln, only 0.08 inches of rainfall occurred during the month.
• Drought in Illinois, June 12 to 30, 202328 eventsAfter below normal rainfall during the month of May, even drier conditions developed across central Illinois for much of the month of June until a significant storm system brought 1 to 2 inches of rain to the region on June 29th.
• Drought in Illinois, October 1 to 31, 202527 eventsFor the third month in a row, much of the area experienced below normal rainfall, with deficits of 1-3 inches in most areas north of I-70. Temperatures were also well above normal during the first half of the month.
• Drought in Illinois, December 1 to 31, 202526 eventsFor the fifth consecutive month, much of the region experienced below normal precipitation, with deficits generally between 0.5 and 1.5 inches for the month of December. Temperatures were above normal for much of autumn, but fell below normal during December.
• Drought in Illinois, November 1 to 30, 202526 eventsFor the fourth month in a row, much of the area experienced below normal precipitation, with deficits of 1 to 2 in most areas during the month of November. Temperatures were near or slightly above normal.
• Drought in Illinois, July 1 to 31, 202324 eventsSevere Drought Conditions (D2) that developed in June continued into July across portions of central Illinois, primarily north of I-72. Some burn bans were in effect at the start of the month, and there were increased fire concerns around the July 4 holiday.
• Drought in Illinois, July 1 to 31, 202321 eventsAn abnormally dry start to summer 2023 carried over into July with the majority of the CWA entering the month in a severe drought. However, several noteworthy rain events throughout the month brought a good deal of relief to much of the area.
• Drought in Illinois, September 1 to 30, 199819 eventsSeptember, 1998 was one of the driest Septembers on record in southern Illinois. Across the Ohio River at Paducah, Kentucky, where the monthly rainfall total was only 0.12 inch, it was the driest September on record.
• Drought in Illinois, August 1 to 31, 199919 eventsAfter one of the wettest Junes on record, the rest of the summer was quite dry. By the end of August, parts of Southern Illinois were in a moderate drought, according to the Palmer Drought Index. There was a wide range in drought conditions.
• Drought in Illinois, October 1 to 31, 199919 eventsThe moderate to severe summer-long drought conditions were greatly alleviated by heavy rain on October 8th and 9th. Rainfall totals were mainly between 2 and 4 inches during a 24-hour time frame.
• Drought in Illinois, November 1 to 30, 199919 eventsThe unseasonably warm and dry fall allowed drought conditions to worsen. The Palmer Drought Index fell deeper into the moderate drought category during the month.
• Drought in Illinois, December 1 to 31, 199919 eventsModerate drought conditions continued to plague parts of southern Illinois into early winter. Heavy rainfall at mid-month brought significant relief. Before then, the dry weather caused unusually high wildfire activity.
• Drought in Illinois, September 1 to 30, 199919 eventsThe moderate to severe summer drought took a considerable toll on crops across southern Illinois. The worst drought conditions were along the Ohio River, where Paducah, KY, received only 1.5 inches of rain in the three-month period from July to September.
• Drought in Illinois, August 1 to 31, 200219 eventsModerate drought conditions developed over southern Illinois during August as a result of persistent dryness that began in June. At Carbondale, no measurable rainfall was reported during the entire month of July, and August rainfall was just over half an inch.
• Drought in Illinois, June 1 to 30, 200519 eventsSouthern Illinois was classified in a moderate drought as June became the fourth consecutive month of below normal rainfall. Some locations received heavy rainfall in June from thunderstorms, but the storms were rather short-lived and infrequent.
• Drought in Illinois, July 1 to 12, 200519 eventsModerate drought conditions persisted over southern Illinois until the remnants of Hurricane Dennis arrived, producing from 2 to 5 inches of rain. Although the rain was beneficial, it came too late for some crops.

Drought everywhereEvery kind of event in Illinois

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.