Coles County residents may get a break from the heat this week, but rainfall remains a question.

The area hasn’t seen significant rainfall since June 18, said Dalias Price, local weather observer, and the county has only received 10 inches of rain since that date, half of the area’s average during the time period. It did rain briefly Sunday, but not a significant amount.

Heat has been in abundance, however. Temperatures have reached 90 degrees 45 times this summer, and five days have had temperatures over 90 already this September, Price said.

And the lack of rain has not helped cool those temperatures down. September has received zero precipitation, Price said.

“Most unusual for September,” he said.

Usually, the area gets 3 inches of rain during the month, he said.

The temperatures have been above average compared to recent years but don’t compare to “the bear cat of all summers” in 1936 when the temperature reached a record 110 degrees in the Midwest one July day, Price said.

Coles County won’t see that temperature anytime soon, Price said.

A cool front will move into the area on Tuesday, he said, creating temperatures in the upper 70s during the middle of the week.

Luckily, temperatures at night have dropped into the 60s, Price said, making outside activity more pleasurable. The temperature has even dropped into the 50s two nights this September, he said.

Temperatures may drop, but the rain isn’t expected to.

According to the National Weather Service, there is a 20 percent chance of rain Monday with a slight chance of thunderstorms and highs in the lower 90s.

Price, who calls himself a hopeless optimist, said he expects rain to come soon, and “students will be forced to clog to class in the rain.

“We’re due for this, and (rain’s) coming,” Price said.