Happy Groundhog Day. Regardless of whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not, so far we have seen very little of cold temperatures and snow this winter in Illinois.
For January 2012, the statewide average temperature for Illinois was 31.4 degrees, which is 6.6 degrees above normal and the 13th warmest January on record. The warmest reading for the month was 69 degrees at Belleville and Kaskaskia on January 6 and at Cairo on January 18. The coldest reading for the month was -6 degrees at Elizabeth and Galena on January 12.
The statewide average precipitation for January was 1.87 inches, which is 97 percent of normal. The wettest areas were in eastern Illinois. I had a few trips in the last two weeks and saw a lot of standing water in fields along Interstate 57. We had a CoCoRaHS station in Henning (Vermilion County) report 4.46 inches. Heavy rains fell in southern Illinois as well. Flora reported a monthly total of 4. 21 inches. Meanwhile, western Illinois was dry. For example, Macomb reported only 0.75 inches of precipitation for the month. See figures below.
The snowfall for January in Illinois was generally below normal south of Interstate 74 with amounts in the range of 1 to 3 inches. Snowfall was above normal north of Interstate 74 with amounts ranging from 3 to 19 inches. The largest monthly snowfall total for the state was New Lenox with 18.9 inches, followed closely by Monee with 17.8 inches. See figures below.
The combination of a warmer than normal December and January was unusual. The average temperature for December/January was 33.4 degrees, making it at the 6th warmest December/January period on record.
The statewide records go back to 1895. The data presented here are preliminary and may change as updates arrive.
Texas Beats Illinois in Snow Bowl
In one of the weather forums, Victor Murphy (NWS) pointed out that Midland Texas has already established a winter seasonal record for the most observed snowfall at 14.4 inches. For us non-Texans, Midland is in western Texas and almost due west of Dallas-Ft. Worth.
By comparison to that 14.4 inch total in Texas, the winter seasonal snowfall totals for cities in or around Illinois through January 9, 2012, include:
- Chicago with 1.9 inches
- Rockford with 1.7 inches
- Peoria with 0.6 inches
- Springfield with 0.1 inches
- Champaign-Urbana with 2.3 inches
- St. Louis MO with 2.0 inches
December in Illinois – Warm with Little Snow
Temperature
The statewide average temperature for December 2011 in Illinois was 35.7 °F, 5.9 °F above average. This ranked as the ninth warmest December on record with statewide records going back to 1895. The highest temperature for the month was 67 °F at Cairo on December 5. The lowest temperature was 0 °F at Monmouth on December 10.
Precipitation
The statewide average precipitation for December in Illinois was 3.43 inches, 0.74 inches above average or 127 percent of average. The highest precipitation total for the month was Brookport Dam (along the Ohio River) with 7.70 inches.
Snowfall
Snowfall totals for December were much below average across the state. The highest snowfall total for the month was at Stockton (far northwestern corner of Illinois) with 4.0 inches. This stands in stark contrast with December 2010 when the highest snowfall total was at Galena with 30.0 inches.
Maps
December – Warmer and Wetter in Illinois So Far
Precipitation and Temperatures in December for Illinois
Based on data through December 21, the statewide average precipitation was 2.9 inches, 1.1 inches above average.
The statewide average temperature was 35.6 °F, 4.5 °F above average. That stands in stark contrast to last December when the average temperature was 21.8 °F through this date. Put another way, we are about 13.8 °F warmer this December than last December through the 21st of the month.
Where is the snow?
With the warmer temperatures this December, we have seen lots of rain but not much snow. The two maps show the snowfall for the period of December 1-21, 2011 and the same period for December 2010. Snowfall is lacking throughout much of the Midwest except for the one winter storm earlier this week. Southeast Illinois has reported no snowfall in December while much of the rest of state has seen two inches or less. By this time last December (second map), much of Illinois and the upper Midwest had experienced 10-25 inches of snow.
