January Weather Summary

Overview

January was a relatively quiet weather month across central and southeast Illinois. No major winter storms or heavy rain events impacted the area, and temperatures were near to slightly above normal. While liquid equivalent precipitation was well below normal (less than 50% of normal for most areas), a couple weather systems produced light to moderate snowfall, which brought monthly snow totals to within a couple inches of normal for most locations. While no major cold-snaps were observed, modified Arctic airmasses did produce two stretches of well below normal temperatures on the 10th-13th, and the 17th-21st. The month ended with a strong "January Thaw" with highs in the 50s and 60s on the 30th and 31st.

Most Significant Event

January 19-20: An upper level disturbance brought a period of light to moderate snow to central and southeast Illinois from the late afternoon of January 19th, through the early morning of January 20th. Since there was no well-defined surface low pressure associated with the system, and it was relaively fast-moving, snow accumulations were limited to 1-4 inches. The highest amounts of 3-4 inches were focused along a 50 mile wide band which stretched west/east through central IL.

January 19-20 Snowfall

Precipitation

Snowfall

Temperatures

Climate Data

The table below summarizes January liquid equivalent precipitation, snowfall, and temperature, and departure from normal for selected cities across central and southeast Illinois. Data from Peoria and Springfield are from ASOS sites, while others are from NWS Cooperative Observers.

Site	Precipitation	Departure from Normal	Snowfall	Departure from Normal	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal
Charleston	0.91"	-1.58"	2.7"	NA	29.4	+1.0
Danville	0.98"	-1.23"	3.7"	-1.1"	28.0	+0.9
Decatur	0.88"	-1.26"	3.6"	-1.2"	27.5	0
Effingham	0.86"	-1.84"	3.5"	NA	28.9	NA
Flora	0.80"	-2.24"	4.0"	NA	30.2	+0.7
Galesburg	0.56"	-0.94"	3.7"	-4.1"	21.4	-0.5
Jacksonville	0.93"	-1.01"	7.3"	+2.8"	26.2	-0.7
Lincoln	0.99"	-0.94"	5.5"	-0.4"	26.1	+0.2
Normal	0.89"	-1.24"	5.9"	-1.1"	24.4	+0.5
Olney	1.03"	-2.02"	3.8"	-0.2"	28.8	-0.3
Paris	1.31"	-1.08"	3.1"	NA	26.8	+0.6
Peoria	0.76"	-1.02"	5.2"	-1.7"	26.6	+1.7
Springfield	1.09"	-0.73"	6.7"	+0.3"	28.8	+2.1
Urbana	0.91"	-1.14"	4.0"	-2.8"	26.9	+2.1

Links below 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 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