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Mild November was
eighth wettest
on record
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[DEC. 6, 2003]
Maybe it didn't seem
like it, but it rained enough in November. "Widespread rains helped
erase concerns about soil moisture, even in the northern part of the
state, because Illinois just had the eighth wettest November since
1895," says Jim Angel, state climatologist with the
Illinois State Water Survey, a
division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
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"Statewide average
precipitation for the 11 months of 2003 so far is 35.31 inches, 98
percent of average. Despite the wet November, the northwest corner
of the state between I-39 and I-80 is down by almost 5.5 inches for
2003, and water levels in a few streams and shallow wells are still
low," says Angel.
Compared with the 8.91 inches
of precipitation in 1985, the wettest November on record,
precipitation across the state was 4.88 inches, or 147 percent of
average. Pana reported 7.16 inches, the most rainfall in November.
East central Illinois reported
the only significant snowfall of the month, 0.2-0.5 inch after
Thanksgiving. Typically, November is not very snowy, and average
amounts range from less than an inch in southern Illinois to 1-2
inches in central Illinois and 2-3 inches in northern Illinois.
"With an average statewide
temperature of 44.3 degrees, 2.6 degrees above average, Illinois
also had the 20th warmest November since 1895. Temperature extremes
ranged from 83 degrees on Nov. 4 in Belleville to 13 degrees on Nov.
30 at Grand Tower. Temperatures averaged 49.8 degrees in November
2001, the warmest November on record since 1895," says Angel.
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Although National Weather
Service outlooks for December indicate a slightly increased chance
for above average temperature in the southern half of Illinois, they
are neutral on precipitation. Winter outlooks concur on
precipitation but show a slightly increased chance for above average
temperatures in a line north of St. Louis to Kankakee. More
information about winter weather is also available from the Illinois
State Water Survey site at
http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/hilites/wx/.
"The
National Weather Service expects the weather pattern this winter to
be more highly variable than that of last winter, which suggests
more big temperature swings such as those in both October and
November. There also could be more winter storms but probably not a
repeat of last year's much above average snowfall in southern
Illinois and much below average snowfall in northern Illinois," says
Angel.
[Illinois
State Water Survey news release] |
