October was on of the top 20 driest ever in Illinois. October was actually shaping up to be the 2nd driest month on record, until the rains we received this past week and into the weekend. That actually changed the numbers quite a bit, with October now the 16th driest October on record. State Climatologist Jim Angel says the state received just half its normal rainfall.
The latest U.S. drought monitor still has a good chunk of western Illinois and parts of central and southeastern Illinois in the abnormally dry to moderate drought category.