CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The statewide average precipitation in Illinois for February was 3.39 inches, 1.46 inches above normal. This ranks as the tenth wettest February since statewide records began in 1895, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).
The highest monthly precipitation total in Illinois was 7.05 inches in Paris. Precipitation includes rainfall and the water content of any snow (and freezing rain, sleet, and snow pellets, as was the case in February).
Snowfall was above normal in February across much of Illinois thanks to the February 1–2 winter storm. Snowfall totals for the month ranged from just under 4.5 inches in southeastern Illinois to over 20 inches across much of northern Illinois. The highest February snowfall total in Illinois was 30.5 inches in Spring Grove.
Chicago had their snowiest February on record with 29.0 inches. Rockford has their fifth snowiest February on record with 20.2 inches. Peoria had their second snowiest February on record with 20.9 inches, while Springfield had their fourth snowiest with 16.5 inches.
The statewide average temperature in Illinois for February was 29.5 degrees, 0.7 degrees below normal. The highest temperature for February in Illinois was 78 degrees in Waterloo on February 21. The lowest temperature for February was -22 degrees in Elizabeth on February 10.
The Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a division of the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability, is the primary agency in Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources.
