It started scorching hot but ended up being pretty cool, overall.

That's what climatologists are saying about September.

A climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey, Jim Angel, says the statewide average temperature for the month was 63.2 degrees - or about 3 degrees below average.

He says that makes this year's September the 13th coolest in Illinois on record.

The coolest September recorded was in 1918, when the average was 59.3 degrees.

September, 2011, began with some parts of the state hitting record temperatures in the 100s. The highest temperature recorded in the state for the month was in Quincy, where it reached 104 degrees on September 1.

It was a different story weeks later. On September 15, Paw Paw recorded the coldest temperature for September - 32 degrees.