Jim Angel

While good rains in August and September have alleviated drought conditions in portions of central and southern Illinois, the most read more

While good rains in August and September have alleviated drought conditions in portions of central and southern Illinois, the most severely affected area in northern Illinois remains stubbornly dry.

Everyone's first concern is always the grass or their crops, but trees can suffer too.

Everyone's first concern is always the grass or their crops, but trees can suffer too.

It's one of those things that's not 100 percent of one or the other.

It's one of those things that's not 100 percent of one or the other.

That's just a little over an inch above normal. It's not spectacular but it's enough to make a difference here.

That's just a little over an inch above normal. It's not spectacular but it's enough to make a difference here.

Water heats up much more slowly than land surfaces, so in the summer the water is acting to cool the read more

Water heats up much more slowly than land surfaces, so in the summer the water is acting to cool the surrounding land surface. In the winter, the opposite happens. In winter the water remains warmer than the surrounding land.