February & Winter Season Climate Summary

February Precipitation Highlights:

February featured above normal liquid equivalent precipitation for most of central and southeast Illinois. The exception was areas northwest of the Illinois River, where amounts were below normal. Highest totals were reported south of I-70, where some sites received in excess of three inches.

February Snowfall Highlights:

Monthly snowfall was well above normal along and northwest of a Taylorville to Danville line. Highest monthly totals of 6 to 10 inches occurred from the Peoria and Bloomington areas, southwest through Springfield and Jacksonville. Accumulating snow events of a few inches on the 5th, 12th, and 26th, provided the bulk of these totals. Surpluses of 4 to 6 inches were common in these areas. Areas near and south of I-70 saw little to no snow.

February Temperature Highlights:

Monthly average temperatures were 1-2 degrees above normal for central and southeast IL. The month started off exceptionally warm with highs reaching into the 60s on the 2nd and 3rd, when some record highs were set. The coldest air of the month occurred on the 13th-14th, when widespread below zero lows were recorded, along with wind chills as low as -25.

February Climate Statistics:

City	Precipitation	Departure from Normal	Snow	Departure from Normal	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal
Charleston	3.83"	+1.32"	3.5"	-1.1"	34.4	+1.3
Danville	2.71"	+0.50"	5.0"	+0.1"	31.7	+0.3
Decatur	2.75"	+0.75"	7.1"	+2.9	31.6	-0.6
Effingham	2.50"	-0.22"	1.1"	-4.2"	34.0	+1.9
Flora	3.35"	+0.71"	N/A	N/A	35.9	+2.1
Galesburg	0.44"	-1.19"	2.0"	-3.9"	27.2	+1.1
Havana	1.56"	-0.54"	9.3"	+2.2"	N/A	N/A
Jacksonville	2.07"	+0.38"	8.0"	+3.4"	32.2	+1.7
Lincoln	2.40"	+0.58"	9.3"	+3.5"	30.9	+0.5
Normal	1.84"	-0.11"	8.5"	+3.4"	29.3	+1.4
Olney	3.30"	+0.56"	0.4"	-2.9"	35.5	+2.3
Paris	2.51"	+0.17"	1.9"	-4.0"	31.2	+0.9
Peoria	1.71"	-0.08"	11.0"	+4.8"	29.8	+0.3
Springfield	3.28"	+1.47"	10.7"	+5.2"	31.9	+0.7
Taylorville	2.52"	+0.53"	3.4"	N/A	32.5	N/A
Tuscola	2.31"	+0.11"	7.1"	+2.7"	31.9	+2.8
Urbana	2.67"	+0.54"	8.5"	+2.7"	30.7	+1.7

The following links are the monthly climate summaries for area cities. Only the summaries for Peoria, Springfield, and Lincoln are considered "official", meaning they are the station of record for their respective locations. The other summaries are "supplemental", meaning another location in the area is the official climate station for the city.

Peoria -- Peoria International Airport
Springfield -- Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport
Lincoln -- National Weather Service Office
Champaign -- University of Illinois-Willard Airport
Decatur -- Decatur Airport
Lawrenceville -- Lawrenceville-Vincennes International Airport
Mattoon -- Coles County Memorial Airport

Climate data for other cities is available at http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ilx

March Look Ahead:

Official outlooks from NOAA's Climate Predication center show higher chances for above normal precipitation (left image below) for much of central and southeast IL. Temperature outlooks (right image below) heavily favor above normal temperatures for the entire area.

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Winter Season Overview

Meteorological winter, spanning the months of December through February, saw temperatures that averaged well above normal, and snowfall that varied from above normal for parts of central Illinois, to well below normal over eastern and southeast Illinois. The above normal snowfall from the Peoria and Bloomington areas, southwest into west central Illinois was the result of several low to medium sized snowfall events. This winter saw a notable lack of heavy snow events. Overall liquid precipitation was above normal, with the highest surpluses of 2-5" occurring south of the I-72 corridor. Seasonal temperatures were 2-4 degrees above normal, largely due to a lack of significant Arctic air. The coldest winter temperatures occurred on the morning of Feb. 14 when widespread below zero temperatures were reported, along with wind chills of -20 to -25.

Winter Season: Precipitation, Snowfall, Temperature, and Departure from Normal Maps

Links below are the seasonal climate summaries for area cities. Only the summaries for Peoria, Springfield and Lincoln are considered "official", meaning they are the station of record for their respective locations. The other summaries are "supplemental", meaning another location in the area is the official climate station for that city.

Peoria -- Peoria International Airport
Springfield -- Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport
Lincoln -- Lincoln NWS office
Champaign -- University of Illinois - Willard Airport
Decatur -- Decatur Airport
Lawrenceville -- Lawrenceville-Vincennes International Airport
Mattoon -- Coles County Airport

Climate data for other area cities is available at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ilx