Weather

 
Finally, the coldest week of the year by far has come to an end. Average temperatures this week ranged from the single digits in northwest Illinois to the high 20s in southern Illinois, between 10 and 20 degrees below normal. Nighttime low temperatures regularly dipped into the single digits to well below zero, including -15 in McHenry and -12 in Freeport. Even Carbondale briefly dipped below zero this week. Maybe more impressive was the fact that several places did not get above freezing the entire week.…

Average temperatures this week were a bit closer to normal than in the first week of the month, ranging from the low 20s in northern Illinois to the high 30s in southern Illinois. February to date has been 4 to 10 degrees above normal, following the 35th coldest January on record statewide. Temperatures did flip later in the week, with nighttime lows dipping into the single digits to below zero across the state early Friday morning. …

We got a little break from winter this week, as average temperatures ranged from the low 30s in northern Illinosi to the mid-40s in southern Illinois, between 5 and 12 degrees above average. Monday brought spring-like temperatures across the state, and several places broke the 70-degree mark, including 76 degrees in Jerseyville and 70 in Charleston. In Jerseyville specifically, Monday was the earliest occurrence of a high temperature 75 degrees or higher on record, going back to the 1940s.…

January continued its cold pattern this week. Average temperatures ranged from the mid teens to the high 20s across the state, between 4 and 12 degrees below normal. Some of the more impressive nighttime low temperatures this week included -7 degrees in Aurora and -6 degrees in Champaign. The first half of the month has at least felt quite cold, and has been colder than normal; however, this month so far is only among the top 40 to 50 coldest on record in Illinois.…

The first full week of the year was more winter-like than pretty much anything we had in 2024. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low teens in northern Illinois to the mid-20s in southern Illinois, between 3 and 6 degrees below normal. High temperatures regularly struggled to make it above freezing while low temperatures dipped near to below zero on a few nights. Some of the more impressive nighttime low temperatures included -2 degrees in Champaign and -1 in Lincoln.…

A winter storm warning is in effect for Champaign county and surrounding portions of east central Illinois until 12 p.m. Monday. Periods of heavy snow and blustery winds are expected to create dangerous winter weather conditions Sunday afternoon into Monday morning after a quiet morning locally. Snow will begin to over spread the region through midday. The heaviest snow is expected to fall across Champaign county late Sunday afternoon into Sunday night with 4 to 7 inches of accumulation possible by Monday morning.…

Happy new year! We’ll start 2025 by looking back at 2024 and then looking ahead to some significant weather this upcoming week. Official numbers will be released next week, but it’s likely 2024 was a top 5 warmest year on record statewide, with only 2012 and 1998 possibly warmer overall. What we do know is that 2024 was the warmest year on record in both Chicago and Peoria, and a top 5 warmest in most cities around the state.…

This year has been very warm across Illinois, to the tune of 3 to 4 degrees above normal. Through the middle of December, 2024 has been the warmest year on record in Chicago, Peoria, and Carbondale, and a top 5 warmest year on record virtually everywhere else across the state. Ironically, it was July – the climatologically warmest month of the year – that had statewide average temperatures farthest below normal. The mid-summer cool down was welcome following a very warm and dry start to the growing season. …

The first week of climatological winter brought at long last a prolonged taste of winter to Illinois. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 20s in northern Illinois to the low 30s in southern Illinois, between 8 and 14 degrees below normal. Nighttime low temperatures this week regularly dipped into the teens and single digits, including 8 degrees in Springfield and 9 degrees in Kankakee. Very strong winds added to the cold to push wind chills in the -5 to -10 degree range.…

Most of this week’s weather was fall-like, with a nice taste of winter. Average temperatures this week ranged from the low 40s in northern Illinois to the low 50s in southern Illinois, between 6 and 8 degrees above normal. November to date has been 5 to 7 degrees above normal, and our fall season to date is among the top 5 warmest statewide. The prolonged mild temperatures made the late week cold a bit more surprising than usual.…