The preliminary statewide average February temperature was 28.4 degrees, 2.7 degrees below the 1991–2020 average and the 52nd coldest on record going back to 1895. The preliminary statewide average total February precipitation was 1.25 inches, 0.85 inches below the 1991–2020 average and the 29th driest on record statewide.
Data are provisional and may change slightly over time
Highly Variable February Temperatures
Most perceive February weather as consistently cold and dreary. But February often brings some of the largest day-to-day temperature swings in Illinois. Figure 1 shows daily temperature departures from normal in Decatur last month. The first week was consistently 5 to 20 degrees warmer than normal, followed by more than two weeks of average temperatures that were 10 to 25 degrees below normal. The last week of the month brought some milder weather to gently guide us into spring.
February average temperatures ranged from the high 30s in southern Illinois to the low 20s in northern Illinois, between 1 and 6 degrees below normal (Figure 2). During the peak of extreme cold in mid-February, several stations saw nighttime temperatures that were well below zero, including -15 degrees in McHenry and -12 in Freeport. The warmest place in the state last month was Crab Orchard in Williamson County with an average of 38 degrees, and the coldest place in the state was Mount Carroll in Carroll County with an average temperature of 19.9 degrees.
The milder weather in the first and last weeks of the month broke 24 daily high maximum temperature records and 15 daily high minimum temperature records. Meanwhile, the extreme cold in mid-February broke 53 daily low maximum temperature records and 32 daily low minimum temperature records. While last month was cold, it was not close to a top 10 or 15 coldest February on record anywhere in Illinois.
Overall, the preliminary statewide average February temperature was 28.4 degrees, 2.7 degrees below the 1991–2020 average and the 52nd coldest on record going back to 1895.
Winter Temperatures were… Wintery
Climatological winter runs from December through February and is the coldest season of the year in Illinois. Midwest winters have warmed at a much faster rate than the other three seasons over the past 100+ years because of human-caused climate change. Consequently, many of the past decade’s winter seasons have been very mild. The 2024-25 winter also began with mild weather, with December temperatures that were 1 to 6 degrees warmer than normal. However, much colder weather throughout January and in most of February outweighed the mild December, resulting in winter season temperatures that were between 1 and 5 degrees below normal for most of Illinois (Figure 3). The Quad Cities region was the only part of the state that experienced a warmer than normal winter, while much of the St. Louis Metro East area had a winter that was nearly 5 degrees colder than normal.
Overall, the preliminary statewide average winter temperature was 28.2 degrees, 1.5 degrees below the 1991–2020 normal and, if confirmed, would be the 56th coldest winter on record in Illinois.
Very Dry February
February is normally one of the driest months of the year, and the last month fit that mold, at least in the northern two-thirds of the state. Total February precipitation ranged from less than a quarter of an inch in parts of far western Illinois to just over 7 inches in far southern Illinois (Figure 4). Most of the state north of Interstate 64 was 1 to 3 inches drier than normal last month, while most of southern Illinois was 1 to 3 inches wetter than normal.
Last month was the 4th driest February in Normal (0.21 inches), Quincy (0.10 inches), and Galesburg (0.17 inches), the 7th driest in Peoria (0.40 inches). Combined with a very dry January in central and northern Illinois, 2025 to date has been the driest start to any year on record in Bloomington-Normal and the 2nd driest start on record in Champaign-Urbana.
Overall, this winter season brought strong precipitation gradients across the state, with totals ranging from less than 2.5 inches in far northwest Illinois to over 15 inches in far southern Illinois (Figure 6). Most of the northern two-thirds of the state was 1 to 5 inches drier than normal last season, while southern Illinois was 1 to 6 inches wetter than normal in winter.
Flipped Snow Pattern in Illinois
I am contractually obligated to remind everyone that Illinois often – if not normally – gets some measurable snowfall in March, and occasionally in April. So, the “snowfall season” is not yet complete; however, January and February almost always contain most of the snowfall in the state. The first two months of 2025 brought an active stormtrack and multiple rounds of heavy snow in southern Illinois but kept central Illinois largely snow free.
February total snowfall ranged from less than 2 inches in east-central Illinois to over 12 inches in far northwest Illinois. Most of the state south of Interstate 70 had 1 to 4 inches above normal snowfall last month, while the rest of the state racked up snowfall deficits of 1 to 5 inches.
The snowfall season so far has set up an unusual pattern across Illinois and the broader Midwest, with much of the southern half of the region having slightly to significantly more snowfall than the parts of the northern half. Southern Illinois has had 5 to 12 inches above average snowfall so far this season, while northern Illinois has experienced a 10 to 20 inch snowfall deficit so far (Figure 7).
March & Spring Outlooks
March is the first month of climatological spring, and the first month we typically begin to see signs of spring. The Climate Prediction Center temperature outlooks lean warmer than normal across the state in March. Precipitation outlooks continue to show best chances of wetter than normal conditions this month. As much as dry soils can help facilitate spring fieldwork, we could use a wetter March to help improve slowly worsening drought conditions, especially in central Illinois.
The spring season outlooks (March–May) also show higher chances of above normal precipitation. Meanwhile, there is not much of a temperature signal, with equal chances of a warmer and cooler than normal spring.
