CHAMPAIGN – After a summer of extreme high temperatures across Illinois the state climatologist says things finally headed back toward normal in August.

Climatologist Jim Angel says the statewide average temperature in August was just slightly below normal at 73.5 degrees. The average for all of June through August was 76.1 degrees. That's 2.6 degrees above normal, making this this summer the eighth warmest on record.

The state also had more-typical rainfall in August. Angel said the average precipitation total for the month was 3.4 inches. That's just 5 percent below normal and comes in the middle of a lengthy drought. Just over half the 6.6 inches of rain the state averaged from June through August fell last month.