In this week's episode of the Good Growing podcast, we talk with Illinois state climatologist Trent Ford. We ask Trent about our weather observations from 2021 starting with the weeks of rain this spring, a humid smokey summer, to the abnormally dry autumns we've seen for the past several years including this one. Trent looks at the data to see how our observations trend with recorded weather patterns and what that means for the overall Illinois climate. Watch us on YouTube https://youtu.be/4IwiQJPveeA 02:20 Welcome Trent! 06:29 What does being the Illinois State Climatologist entail? 09:19 Knowing the difference between weather and climate 10:40 In Western Illinois, there were several weeks of non-stop rain spring of 2021. Was that significant? 13:00 2021 Drought in Northern Illinois 15:18 How humidity, wind, corn, and smoke from fires out west affected our summer weather. 20:05 How hot was the summer? 21:00 Are autumns getting drier in Illinois? 25:27 Are we losing spring? It seems to go from winter to summer. 29:06 If the days are longest in June why is it hottest in July and August? 29:45 When it comes to informing the public about climate and weather, are there resources or data online that you recommend Illinoisans check? Some helpful resources on this week's topics: National Weather Service https://www.weather.gov/ NOAA Climate at a Glance https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/ Illinois State Climatologist Office https://stateclimatologist.web.illinois.edu/ 2021 Illinois Climate Assessment https://stateclimatologist.web.illinois.edu/illinois-climate-change-assessments/ Check out the Good Growing Blog extension.illinois.edu/blogs/good-growing --- Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies.