While some parts of the country have seen record amounts of snow in recent months, the white stuff has been is shorter supply in central Illinois.
The National Weather Service climate statistics for winter (defined as December-February) shows some communities down more than a foot below normal.
Lincoln recorded 5.7” during the three month winter period, which is 11.1” below normal. Springfield only saw 3.8” of snow between December-February, which will go down as the 7th least snowy winter on record for the city. The normal snowfall amount for Springfield is 17.1”.
Springfield, IL only saw 3.8” of snow between December-February, which will go down as the 7th least snowiest winter on record for the city.
Less snowfall has also coincided with higher than normal temperatures for the season. Lincoln experienced its 7th warmest winter with an average temperature of 33.9 F.
Much of the area saw average temperatures of +3F to +6F. Record high temperatures were set at all 3 climate sites (Peoria, Springfield, and Lincoln) on January 3 when temperatures surged into the middle to upper 60s. This was the same day that 9 tornadoes occurred in the state of IL, which is the most January tornadoes to happen since January 7, 1989 when 8 tornadoes occurred.
This year saw the 5th warmest January in Lincoln with an average temperature of 34.7F and 9th warmest January in Springfield with an average temperature of 35.1F.
Still, it might be too early to put away your snow shovel. Even as we transition to springtime, central Illinois has often seen measurable snowfall in March to early May.
