Drought Information Statement for 
Central and Southeast Illinois
Valid January 22, 2026
Issued By: WFO Lincoln, IL
Contact Information: nws.lincoln@noaa.gov

The next update will be around Thursday, January 29th, if conditions persist or worsen.
Please see all currently available products at https://drought.gov/drought-information-statements.
Please visit https://www.weather.gov/ilx/DroughtInformationStatement for previous statements. 
Please visit https://www.drought.gov/drought-status-updates for regional drought status updates.
Key Messages:
Cold and somewhat dry conditions with light amounts of snow over the past week kept drought from worsening.
Although significant snow is forecast in the upcoming few days, drought improvement will likely not be significant with low moisture content of the snow.
1

U.S. Drought Monitor

Drought Intensity and Extent:
D4 (Exceptional Drought): N/A
D3 (Extreme Drought): Portions of east-central Illinois including Piatt, Douglas, and Champaign Counties, and parts of Moultrie, De Witt, McLean, Coles, Edgar, and Vermilion Counties.
D2 (Severe Drought): Most remaining portions of east-central Illinois.
D1 (Moderate Drought): The vast majority of counties across western, central, and southeast Illinois.
D0: (Abnormally Dry): Small area northwest of the Illinois River and in southeast Illinois near the Wabash River in Lawrence and southeast Crawford counties.

Recent Change in Drought Intensity
One Week Drought Monitor Class Change. 
Drought Worsened: 
Small portion of Lawrence County.

Drought Improved:
None.

No Change:
The majority of the area remains unchanged.

Image Caption: One week change in drought monitor categories. Image from Drought.gov. 

Recent Precipitation
Precipitation was minimal over the past 7 days, mostly in the form of light amounts of snow (right).

The past 30 days (left) had a mix of above and below normal precipitation. The driest areas were from west-central to east-central IL southward, and areas with above normal precipitation were toward northwest IL.
Last 7 days and 30 days
Image Caption: Total precipitation as a percentage of normal, as of January 14. Left image is a 30 day average, right image the last 7 days. Images from Drought.gov. 

Summary of Impacts
Hydrologic Impacts 
Streamflow on most rivers is below normal, with most basins below the 25th percentile and several below the 10th percentile. 
Near record low flow on the east end of the Sangamon River basin is impacting water supplies of Lake Decatur downstream.
Lake Decatur is reported to be around 3.5 feet below normal. Lake Springfield is around 1.5 feet below normal.

Agricultural Impacts
No recent impacts reported in the past week. 

Fire Hazard Impacts
None reported.

Other Impacts
Extremely poor to record low water table and deep soil moisture conditions.

Mitigation Actions
Voluntary Stage 1 water rationing is in effect in Decatur.
Voluntary water conservation requested in Bloomington and Sullivan.

Hydrologic Conditions and Impacts
Most streamflows are below normal, with the most significant streamflow impacts on portions of the Sangamon and Illinois Rivers.

Some smaller streams are reporting near normal flows north of the Sangamon basin in central IL, as well as the Vermilion Basin in east-central IL.

Image Caption: USGS 7 day average streamflow HUC map valid December 23, 2025.

Seven Day Precipitation Forecast
A winter storm will spread snow into much of central and especially southeast IL this weekend, providing up to a half inch of liquid equivalent (southeast IL), however much of the area with the worst drought should have under a quarter inch of liquid equivalent. This should have minor or no impact on drought reduction, but may be enough to keep conditions from worsening.
Otherwise, little or no precipitation is expected in the upcoming week.
Image Caption: Expected rainfall over the next 7 days, valid through 6 PM Thursday, January 29. Check weather.gov/ilx for updated forecasts.

Long Range Outlooks
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
Above normal precipitation is favored for February (33% to 50% chance) across central IL for February.
There are approximately equal chances for above or below normal temperatures for the month of February.

Image Caption: Precipitation (left) and temperature (right) outlooks for February. 
Check weather.gov/ilx for updated forecasts.

Drought Outlook
The latest monthly and seasonal outlooks can be found on the CPC homepage
Drought is forecast to improve or end across the area through the end of April.
Image Caption: 
Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook released Jan. 15, valid through April 30, 2026. Images from Drought.gov.
Climate Prediction Center Monthly Drought Outlook 
Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Drought Outlook