Preliminary numbers are in and it looks like a mild February wrapped up a weak winter in Illinois.
The statewide average temperature last month was 35 degrees. That’s four degrees above normal says Illinois Climatologist Trent Ford.
“Very likely that February will be a top 20 warmest, and in some parts of the state and in southern Illinois it will be a top 10 warmest on record. Persistently mild is the key, with a majority of days being warmer than normal.”
Ford says statewide average precipitation was about three inches last month, although amounts vary locally. That’s nearly an inch above normal, and mostly fell as rain landing much of the state in a “snow drought.”
“Usually when we get well behind numbers for snowfall in the state it’s either because we have a very warm or very dry winter, or a combination of both. In this case it hasn’t been dry it’s just been too consistently mild to drop the temperatures down enough to get snow.”
Ford says the spring outlook is leaning towards colder and wetter weather in Illinois.
In Salem, 2.05 inches of rain was received in February compared to 5.83 inches of rain and snow last February. For the first two months of the year, Salem had 6.34 inches of rain compared to 7.23 inches last year. While there was no snowfall this year, there was 6.61 inches last February.
In Centralia, an even two inches of rain was received in February after 4.09 inches in January. Last February, Centralia had six inches of snow compared to none this year.
The Salem Water Plant recorded the high temperature of the month of February at 72 on the 23rd. That compares to a high of 64 last year. The low temperature was 12 degrees on the 1st and 4th compared to a low of three last February.
