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

Serena

129 people, 630 ft above sea level in LaSalle County.

630 ftElevation, city center
129People, 2024 estimate
0 sq miLand area
Clear 39°
Clear now Dew point 29° · WNW 3 mph · high 39°
City of Serena River Interstate 2 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Serena 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 Serena

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 4:00 PM CST
RIGHT NOW Rochelle Municipal-Koritz Field Airport (KRPJ) · 4:55 PM
Clear
39° Clear Feels like 37° · high of 39° near 5 PM
WindWNW 3 mphno gusts
Humidity67%rising to 96% by morning
Pressure30.29 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index—no forecast
Dew point 29° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Clear
Not this weeknone in the forecast for a week
LIKELY AMOUNT—nothing expected
LAST RAINNov. 120.6 in · 2 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for LaSalle County
NWS Chicago and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 5:15 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 6:42 AM4:36 PM ↓
9 h 54 m of daylight, 2 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
17
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
Tomorrow: None, moderate. 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
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
clear day
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly sunny
mostly clear night
clear night
clear night
clear night
mostly clear night
mostly sunny
clear day
clear day
TEMPERATURE °F
39°
26°
47°
29°
50°
33°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
1
0
0
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8
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HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 24 to 30° ↑ Humid air returns More humid: 36° by Tuesday

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
39° 22°
0% rain — WNW 1 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
48° 23°
0% rain — NNW 0 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
50° 28°
0% rain — SW 5 A
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
54° 32°
0% rain — S 7 A
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
55° 41°
10% rain — S 10 B
THU Nov. 19 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
59° 40°
20% rain — WSW 6 C
FRI Nov. 20 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
59° 46°
20% rain — SE 7 C
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 Serena about 5,000 feet above the ground was over British Columbia three days ago, and over the northern Plains a day ago, about 1,770 miles back along its path. It rose from near the ground on the way. Near the ground the air came from British Columbia; at 10,000 feet, from the open Pacific. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK, FOUR YEARS AGO Nov. 11, 2022

The hottest this week has been

75° on Nov. 11, 2022, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1941. Next is 74° in 2020.

74°
75°
20202022
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Marseilles Lock/Dam record since 1941.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Serena stands on

Serena’s center stands about 630 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 510 ft to 660 ft, a difference of 150 ft: gently rolling country.

Under the town center the state geologic map shows Ancell Group (sandstone, limestone, dolostone), from the Middle Ordovician to Late Ordovician, 454 to 468 million years old.

The section below crosses 4 rock units mapped at the surface.

Serena, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
500 ft600 ft700 ft SERENA630 ftIllinois Riverabout 460 ftFox Riverabout 500 ftHigh point of the line730 ft ← SSomonauk · N →

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

Prairie du Chien Group

Dolostone. Age: Early Ordovician to Middle Ordovician, 459 to 487 million years old. About 8 mi of the line.

Ancell Group

Sandstone, limestone, dolostone. Age: Middle Ordovician to Late Ordovician, 454 to 468 million years old. About 7 mi of the line.

Carbondale Formation

Shale, sandstone, coal. Age: Middle Pennsylvanian to Late Pennsylvanian, 304 to 315 million years old. About 6 mi of the line.

Cambrian System

Dolostone, sandstone. Age: Middle Cambrian to Cambrian, 487 to 521 million years old. About 3 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 Serena’s rain goes

A raindrop that lands in Serena reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Fox River, the Illinois and the Mississippi: about 1,440 river miles.

THE WAY DOWN, TO SCALE
Serena≈ 1,440 mi · the Gulf of America
FROM THE CENTER OF SERENA ≈ 1,440 mi to the Gulf of America Fox River → Illinois → Mississippi

Lake on the way: Peoria Lake.

1,190 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.

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

MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Serena’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1941 · Marseilles Lock/Dam, 11 mi south

Serena has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 84° in July; winter nights fall to about 14° in January. A normal year brings about 25 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 39 inches of water.

31°14°36°17°47°27°61°37°73°49°81°58°84°62°82°61°77°53°64°41°49°30°37°21° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY SERENA 39.0 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Rain by month Freezing
July, average84° / 62°high / low, the warmest month
January, average31° / 14°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow39.0 inwettest months: June and May
Snow a year25.0 insnowiest: January
Hottest on record102°FJuly 8, 2012
Coldest on record−27°FJanuary 5, 1999
Wettest day on record6.80 inJuly 14, 1958
90° days a year15very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°139and 43 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 30 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingJan. 1 to Feb. 4; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingNov. 9 to April 1; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchMay through July: 13.5 of the year’s 39.0 inches
MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high31°36°47°61°73°81°84°82°77°64°49°37°
Normal low14°17°27°37°49°58°62°61°53°41°30°21°
Rain and melt, in1.951.902.543.594.704.923.854.093.463.202.722.11
Snow, inches8.47.32.90.30.00.00.00.00.00.00.85.3

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1941 at Marseilles Lock/Dam, 11 miles south, 140 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.

MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Serena on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Aurora IL · 30 MI 30 miles northeast Naperville IL · 35 MI 35 miles northeast Chicago IL · 59 MI 59 miles northeast Milwaukee WI · 116 MI 116 miles north Madison WI · 116 MI 116 miles north Indianapolis IN · 180 MI 180 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Serena, Illinois. Explore the plate
ILLINOIS · LASALLE

Serena

129 people, 630 ft above sea level in LaSalle County.

630 ftElevation
129People
0 sq miLand
Clear 39°
ClearDew point 29°
1

Today in Serena

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now clear night 39° 0%
8p clear night 33° 0%
11p clear night 30° 0%
2a mostly clear night 27° 0%
5a partly cloudy night 26° 0%
8a partly cloudy day 29° 0%
Clear
NEXT RAINNone this week
→
Sat0%
Sunny Sunny
22
39
A
Sun0%
Mostly sunny; warmer Mostly sunny; warmer
23
48
A
Mon0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
28
50
A
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
32
54
A
Wed10%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
41
55
B
Thu20%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
40
59
C
Fri20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
46
59
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK, FOUR YEARS AGO · NOV. 11, 2022

75°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1941.

2

What Serena stands on

Serena’s center stands about 630 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 510 ft to 660 ft, a difference of 150 ft: gently rolling country.

Serena, south to north Serena630 ftIllinois Riverabout 460 ftFox Riverabout 500 ftHigh point730 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 122×. Colors: rock at the surface.
Elevation, center630 ft
Within 3 miles510 to 660 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (150 ft of relief)
Rock at the surfaceAncell Group
Its ageMiddle Ordovician to Late Ordovician, 454 to 468 million years old
5

Serena’s year

Serena has a hot-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 84° in July; winter nights fall to about 14° in January. A normal year brings about 25 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 39 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 39.0 in
July, average84° / 62° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average31° / 14° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow39.0 in · wettest months: June and May
Snow a year25.0 in · snowiest: January
Hottest on record102°F · July 8, 2012
Coldest on record−27°F · January 5, 1999
Wettest day on record6.80 in · July 14, 1958
90° days a year15 · very few reach 100°
Nights at or below 32°139 · and 43 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 30 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Jan. 1 to Feb. 4; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Nov. 9 to April 1; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · May through July: 13.5 of the year’s 39.0 inches
Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1941 at Marseilles Lock/Dam, 11 miles south, 140 ft lower. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
3

Where the rain goes

≈ 1,440 mito the Gulf of AmericaFox River → Illinois → Mississippi

A raindrop that lands in Serena reaches the Gulf of America by way of the Fox River, the Illinois and the Mississippi: about 1,440 river miles.

Lake on the way: Peoria Lake.

1,190 miles of the trip are on the Mississippi.