To put the current climate and potential future climate of Illinois in perspective, an understanding of the past climate of Illinois is needed. The climate portion of the Water Supply Planning web site is largely focused on written records collected since the 1800s. However, we know that the climate of Illinois has changed radically over longer time frames. For example, we are about 7° to 8°F degrees warmer than at the end of the last ice age some 11,000 years ago. About 220 million years ago, during the Paleozoic Era, the climate of Illinois was essentially tropical with huge swamps and plant and animal life typical of that kind of climate climates. The remains of that plant life were buried under sedimentary rock and later became the source of abundant coal reserves in Illinois.
While written records of temperature and precipitation were made since the early 1800s in Illinois, more extensive records were kept in the late 19th century to the present. After World War II, weather observations branched out from just surface stations to measuring the upper atmosphere with weather balloons, radar, and satellites. However, most climate studies continue to use primarily the surface records because of their relative longevity and stability over time.
 |
Illinois State Water Survey, Contact Information University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
All files and information © 2008 Illinois State Water Survey. Terms of use. |
|
|