It's felt like a pretty mild August to this point but weather officials say we're trending to a pretty average August.

Matt Barnes with the National Weather Service in Lincoln indicates the heat has largely set up in the west and some cooler, Canadian air is keeping it out there instead of dominating the summer weather like was anticipated earlier this year.

Some parts of central Illinois are enjoying lush gardens and head-high crops thanks to timely rain but others are not. Barnes indicates the August rains have been hit and miss depending on where you're at.

According to Barnes, the mild temperatures should be short-lived as we get into September. The last half of the month has a strong above-normal temperature and below-normal precipitation signal. We'll have more on that later this week on Regional Radio.