Not much snow yet, but things could change next month
Peoria, Ill. (WMBD) — We’re at the halfway point of meteorological winter and so far we’ve seen a little bit of everything, even though snow has been a bit on the light side. Here’s a look at how things have played out so far and where they are expected to go as we move into February and the second half of winter.
December Stats
TemperatureDespite a cold start to the month well above average temperatures at the end of the month offset the early month cool down and left us with a monthly temperature that was above average.
SnowfallWe picked up a little snow early in the month with our first 1 inch snowfall falling on November 12th. There really wasn’t much snow after that which resulted in Peoria only receiving 1.9 inches of snow for the month leaving us 4.2 inches below average.
PrecipitationWe may have ended up below average in snowfall through December but we still picked up plenty of rain. Peoria recorded precipitation, most of which rain, on 17 of the 31 days of the month. This left us with 2.49 inches of rain and finishing the month more than a quarter of an inch above average.
TemperatureWhile 2024 ended on the warm side, Old Man Winter returned with a vengeance for the first two weeks of January. Through January 15th Peoria’s monthly average temperature is at 21.3°, 4.6° below average.
SnowfallWe’ve had more periods of snow through the first two week of the month. Snow has generally been light with our biggest snow of the season (1.3 inches) falling on January 10th. While the snow has only amounted to 4.6 inches through January 15th, we are actually slightly above average for the month though that is not likely to hold.
PrecipitationDespite seeing above average snowfall, the snow we’ve seen has been quite dry which has resulted in just over a quarter of an inch of moisture which is more than three quarters of an inch below average for the month.
We’re in the midst of a brief and welcomed warm-up but it won’t last. The coldest air we’ve seen this season is expected to move into Central Illinois next week. We’ll see highs in the teens and single digits and lows below zero for the start of the week. Temperatures will then make a slight recovery towards the end of the week with minimal chances for snowfall.
For the last week of the month the pattern could start to trend a bit more active with additional shots of cold and snow. The Climate Prediction Center’s 8-14 Day Outlook leans towards below average temperatures and above average precipitation from January 24th through January 30th.
There’s a pretty strong signal that the month of February could be quite active for the Midwest and Great Lakes, including Central Illinois. As we move through February the upper-level pattern will resemble a typical La Niña set-up with above average precipitation across the Midwest, cooler temperatures to the north and warmer temperatures in the south.
While the pattern won’t remain stagnant for the whole month, it appears the battle zone between warm and cold air will setup further north than it has been through January. This should result in bigger temperature swings and more opportunities for freezing rain and snow.
The Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for February calls for a greater chance of above average precipitation across Central Illinois. Given the uncertainty between bigger temperature fluctuations they give us an Equal Chance of experiencing above average, below average, or near average temperatures.
Time will tell how things play out but if you’re a snow lover that has been disappointed with our lack of snow so far, there’s plenty of reason to remain optimistic.
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