Temperature

Average temperatures were below normal to the south and east (Figure 1). Over Ohio and Kentucky, temperatures were roughly 5°F below normal. Across Iowa and Wisconsin, temperatures were near normal. Across Minnesota, average temperatures were up to 5°F above normal.

Minimum temperatures were near to slightly above normal west of the Mississippi River (Figure 2). Across northern and eastern Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and northern Illinois, minimum temperatures were 2-4°F below normal.

Maximum temperatures were below normal for much of the region from I-80 southward (Figure 3). Across the southernmost areas, maximum temperatures were 6-7°F below normal. Across northern Minnesota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP), and northern Wisconsin, maximum temperatures were 2-4°F above normal.

Precipitation & Drought

Precipitation was below normal across the region’s midsection, with Chicagoland observing less than 10 percent of normal precipitation for the period (Figure 4). Precipitation was above normal by 200-300 percent south of the Ohio River.

As of October 28, drought remained largely unchanged in the hardest-hit areas. D3 or extreme drought remained in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio (Figure 5). The vast majority of improvements were made across the south, specifically, the Missouri Bootheel, western Kentucky, and southern Illinois, all of which have little to no drought conditions remaining.