Winter Season & February Climate Summary for Central & SE IL

Winter Season: Overview

Meteorological winter, spanning the months of December through February, produced a wide variety of weather across central and southeast Illinois.  December and January saw drier than normal conditions across the area, while the the last half of February turned excessively wet.  This resulted in seasonal precipitation totals within an inch or two of normal.  While drier than normal conditions were reported for much of central Illinois, a few corridors of wetter than normal conditions occurred near the Illinois River Valley, across Champaign and Vermilion counties, and across the southern quarter of the state.

Snowfall showed a tight north to south gradient across the area.  Locations south of a Jacksonville to Paris line saw less than a half foot of snow, or less than 50% of normal.  Totals quickly increased farther north.  Locations north of a Galesburg to Peoria to Chenoa line received 20-25", which was near to slightly above seasonal normals.

Periods of much above and much below normal temperatures resulted in seasonal average temperatures that were very close to normal.  A notable period of excessive cold affected the region to start January.  Many locations across the northern half of the state failed to reach zero for a high on the 1st, while lows dipped well below zero for several days.  Many record low temperatures were set during this coldest stretch of winter.  A strong January thaw occurred later in the month, with widespread highs in the 60s for several days.

Some records and other notable events from winter 2017-2018:

• Peoria: 4th wettest February with 4.68"
• Lincoln: 5th driest December with 0.46"; wettest February with 4.79"
• Springfield: 7th driest December with 0.37"
• Urbana: wettest February with 6.12"  

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

Winter Season (Dec 2017-Feb 2018): Climate Data

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 

February: Overview

After a very dry winter, a pattern change brought an active storm track to the region for the last half of February.  The most significant event occurred on February 19-21 when heavy rains of 3-6" affected portions of central and eastern Illinois, resulting in flash flooding, and later river flooding which lasted through the end of the month.  Thanks to this event, well above normal precipitation was recorded for the month.  In fact, several sites were in their "Top 10" wettest February, with Urbana setting their wettest February.  This amount of rain alleviated drought conditions which had affected much of the area since last summer.

Monthly snowfall was well below normal south of I-72, but amounts quickly increased farther north.  The most significant snow event occurred on the 5th.  A fast-moving storm system brought snow to the northern half of Illinois during the afternoon and evening. Snow began to fall in a band across north-central Illinois during the early afternoon, and remained stationary over the area into the early evening before gradually shifting southeast. Due to a prolonged period of moderate to occasionally heavy snow, impressive snow accumulations in excess of 6 inches occurred along and north of a Galesburg to Watseka line.  The highest total received in central Illinois was 8.3" in Toluca in Marshall County.  Snow totals decreased rapidly further south, with 3 to 5 inches along a Canton to Bloomington line, and less than 1 inch south of a Springfield to Mattoon line.

Monthly temperatures were generally near normal west of I-55, and 2-4 degrees above normal over eastern and southern Illinois.  The coldest stretch of weather occurred on the 5th and 6th when low temperatures dropped below zero for much of the northern half of the state.  For the last half of the month, above normal temperatures accompanied the active weather pattern, and many days had highs the 50s and 60s.
 

February: Precipitation, Snowfall, Temperature, and Departure from Normal Maps

February 2018: Climate Data

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