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Shaded-relief map of Sailor Springs, Illinois: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
ILLINOIS · CLAY COUNTY

Sailor Springs

91 people, 450 ft above sea level in Clay County.

450 ftElevation, city center
91People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Sunny 50°
Sunny now Dew point 30° · NW 3 mph · high 48°
City of Sailor Springs River Interstate 2 miles
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The Sailor Springs plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Sailor Springs

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 12:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Olney-Noble Airport (KOLY) · 1:50 PM
Sunny
50° Sunny Feels like 49° · high of 48° near 2 PM
WindNW 3 mphno gusts
Humidity46%falling to 49% this afternoon
Pressure30.28 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 30° · Dry38° by Tuesday: more humid
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 130.02 in · 1 dry day
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Clay County
NWS Lincoln and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:16 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:34 AM4:41 PM ↓
10 h 6 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
24
GOODAir quality index · ozone
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
clear day
clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
clear day
clear day
clear day
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
clear day
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
48°
27°
51°
29°
52°
31°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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0
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3
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 26 to 38°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Sunny Sunny
48° 26°
0% rain — NW 3 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 27°
0% rain — NNE 0 A
MON Nov. 16 Sunny Sunny
56° 28°
0% rain — E 0 A
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
59° 31°
0% rain — SE 5 A
WED Nov. 18 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
63° 38°
0% rain — SSE 5 A
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
66° 45°
0% rain — S 2 B
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
69° 45°
0% rain — SE 1 B
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Sailor Springs about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the open Pacific three days ago, and over the central Plains a day ago, about 2,880 miles back along its path. It came down from about 13,800 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the Canadian Prairies; at 10,000 feet, from the northern Rockies. It feels dry all the same. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK, SEVEN YEARS AGO Nov. 12, 2019

The coldest this week has been

4° on Nov. 12, 2019, the coldest reading for this week of the year since 1995. Next is 10° in 1997.

10°
4°
19972019
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Newton record since 1995.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Sailor Springs stands on

Sailor Springs’s center stands about 450 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 420 ft to 500 ft, a difference of 80 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Mattoon Formation (shale), from the Late Pennsylvanian, 304 to 307 million years old.

Sailor Springs, cut in half from southwest to northeast

A section southwest to northeast, 24 miles through the town center
400 ft500 ft SAILOR SPRINGS450 ftFlora490 ftLittle Wabash Riverabout 440 ftBig Muddy Creekabout 450 ftHigh point of the line580 ft ← SW · FloraNE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 64×. The colored band under the surface is the rock the state geologic map shows at the surface, not a picture of what lies beneath.

Rock at the surface along the line

Mattoon Formation

Shale. Age: Late Pennsylvanian, 304 to 307 million years old. About 24 mi of the line.

From the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation (Horton and others, 2017), the states’ geologic maps joined at a common scale.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR; rock from the USGS State Geologic Map Compilation.

MILE3
THE WATER

Where Sailor Springs’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Sailor Springs reaches the Gulf of America by way of Little Muddy Creek, the Little Wabash, the Ohio and the Mississippi: about 1,260 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Sailor Springs≈ 1,260 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF SAILOR SPRINGS ≈ 1,260 mi to the Gulf of America Little Muddy Creek → Little Wabash → Ohio → Mississippi

970 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

Traced down the USGS NHDPlus V2.1 river network from the Census center point of Sailor Springs; river miles along the main stem, rounded.

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Sailor Springs’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1995 · Newton, 18 mi north-northeast

Sailor Springs has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 86° in July; winter nights fall to about 22° in January. A normal year brings about 16 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 46 inches of water.

37°22°42°25°53°34°65°44°75°55°84°64°86°67°85°65°79°57°68°46°53°35°42°27° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 TODAY 46.0 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Rain by month Freezing
July, average86° / 67°high / low, the warmest month
January, average37° / 22°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow46.0 inwettest months: June and April
Snow a year16.0 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record107°FJuly 7, 2012
Coldest on record−14°FJanuary 6, 2014
Wettest day on record6.18 inJune 6, 2008
Snowiest day on record9.3 inJanuary 5, 2014
90° days a year30about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°105and 23 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfa

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Oct. 18, to the last in spring, about April 13 (median dates)
2Lows below freezingNov. 22 to March 11; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Sailor Springs normally reaches 54° and falls to 35°. The record high is 75°, in 2025; the record low 16°, in 2018. The most rain on this date, 0.88 in, fell in 2020.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high37°42°53°65°75°84°86°85°79°68°53°42°
Normal low22°25°34°44°55°64°67°65°57°46°35°27°
Rain and melt, in3.222.613.735.014.795.284.233.063.263.843.863.14
Snow, inches5.33.92.10.20.00.00.00.00.00.00.73.8

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1995 at Newton, 18 miles north-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Sailor Springs on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

St. Louis MO · 102 MI 102 miles west Indianapolis IN · 138 MI 138 miles northeast Louisville KY · 153 MI 153 miles east Nashville TN · 199 MI 199 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Sailor Springs, Illinois. Explore the plate
ILLINOIS · CLAY

Sailor Springs

91 people, 450 ft above sea level in Clay County.

450 ftElevation
91People
0 sq miLand
Sunny 50°
SunnyDew point 30°
1

Today in Sailor Springs

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear day 48° 0%
5p clear night 43° 0%
8p clear night 36° 0%
11p clear night 32° 0%
2a clear night 29° 0%
5a clear night 27° 0%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
26
48
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
27
54
A
Mon0%
Sunny Sunny
28
56
A
Tue0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
31
59
A
Wed0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
38
63
A
Thu0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
45
66
B
Fri0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
45
69
B
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, SEVEN YEARS AGO · NOV. 12, 2019

4°, the coldest this week of the year has been since 1995.

2

What Sailor Springs stands on

Sailor Springs’s center stands about 450 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 420 ft to 500 ft, a difference of 80 ft: gently rolling country.

Sailor Springs, southwest to northeast Sailor Springs450 ftLittle Wabash Riverabout 440 ftHigh point580 ft ← SWNE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center450 ft
Within 3 miles420 to 500 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (80 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceMattoon Formation
Its ageLate Pennsylvanian, 304 to 307 million years old
5

Sailor Springs’s year

Sailor Springs has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 86° in July; winter nights fall to about 22° in January. A normal year brings about 16 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 46 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 46.0 in
July, average86° / 67° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average37° / 22° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow46.0 in · wettest months: June and April
Snow a year16.0 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record107°F · July 7, 2012
Coldest on record−14°F · January 6, 2014
Wettest day on record6.18 in · June 6, 2008
Snowiest day on record9.3 in · January 5, 2014
90° days a year30 · about 1 of them 100° or more
Nights at or below 32°105 · and 23 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeHot-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfa
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Oct. 18, to the last in spring, about April 13 (median dates)
2Lows below freezing · Nov. 22 to March 11; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Sailor Springs normally reaches 54° and falls to 35°. The record high is 75°, in 2025; the record low 16°, in 2018. The most rain on this date, 0.88 in, fell in 2020.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1995 at Newton, 18 miles north-northeast. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,260 mito the Gulf of AmericaLittle Muddy Creek → Little Wabash → Ohio → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Sailor Springs reaches the Gulf of America by way of Little Muddy Creek, the Little Wabash, the Ohio and the Mississippi: about 1,260 river miles.

970 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.