CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - January is over, and still the weather is mild. Two-thirds of the way into the season, and Illinois is enjoying its 6thwarmest winter since 1895, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).
For January 2012, the statewide average temperature for Illinois was 31.4 degrees, which is 6.6 degrees above normal and the 13th warmest January on record. The warmest reading for the month was 69 degrees at Belleville and Kaskaskia on January 6 and at Cairo on January 18. The coldest reading for the month was -6 degrees at Elizabeth and Galena on January 12.
The statewide average precipitation for January was 1.87 inches, which is 97 percent of normal. The wettest areas were in eastern Illinois. Flora reported a monthly total of 4. 21 inches of rainfall. Meanwhile, western Illinois was dry. For example, Macomb reported only 0.75 inches of precipitation for the month.
The snowfall for January in Illinois was generally below normal south of Interstate 74 with amounts in the range of 1 to 3 inches common. Snowfall was above normal north of Interstate 74 with amounts in the range of 3 to 15 inches. The largest monthly snowfall total for the state was at Monee with 17.8 inches.
The combination of an exceptionally warm December and January was unusual. The average temperature for December/January was 33.4 degrees, making it at the 6th warmest December/January period on record.
The Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a division of the Prairie Research Institute, is the primary agency in Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources.