CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Based on preliminary data in Illinois, the statewide average temperature for March was 43.6 degrees, 2.5 degrees above normal. This ends a three-month streak of colder than normal temperatures that occurred this winter, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

The statewide average precipitation was 2.8 inches, 0.4 inches below normal. A year ago, the March precipitation was 4.2 inches, an inch above normal, signaling the start of a very wet growing season.

This year, the January to March precipitation total was 5.8 inches, 1.4 inches below normal. Drier conditions this year have helped soil moisture return to conditions more typical for this time of year after an exceptionally wet fall.

The latest National Weather Service outlook for April calls for an increased chance of above normal temperatures across Illinois and the Corn Belt. An increased chance of above normal precipitation is indicated for the western Corn Belt, including western Illinois. The eastern half of Illinois has an equal chance of above, below, and near normal precipitation.

"March certainly came in like a lion and out like a lamb. The average statewide temperature on March 1 was 32 degrees but warmed up to 58 degrees on March 31," concludes Angel.

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.