Illinois State Water Survey Illinois State Climatologist

New Weather Outlook for June

The NWS Climate Prediction Center released their updated outlook for June, 2015. The new June outlook shows northern Illinois, including the Chicago area, with an increased chance of warmer and drier than average conditions. Much of central and southern Illinois has equal chances (EC) of above, below, and near-average temperature and precipitation. This is different from […]

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February – 7th Coldest on Record for Illinois

The statewide average temperature for February was 18.6 degrees. That is 12.3 degrees below the 1981-2010 average and the 7th coldest February on record. By comparison, February 2014 was 9th coldest at 19.5 degrees. Here are some amazing statistics for Chicago. February was tied with 1875 for the coldest on record, according to the Chicago National […]

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Quiet Winter for Snowfall across central US

Snowfall across the central US has been slightly below average so far this winter and stands in stark contrast to last winter. However, the impact on soil moisture, rivers, and streams has been minimal. Here is an example of snowfall differences. At Chicago O’Hare airport the snowfall total for this winter through January 14 is […]

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Friday Wrapup – Illinois Very Cold and Dry in November

So far, November has been much colder and drier than average. The statewide average temperature is 34.6 degrees, which is 9 degrees below average. The statewide average precipitation (rainfall + water content of snow) was only 0.6 inches, about a third of the average through this date. There have been astounding snowfall totals in places […]

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