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January cold and dry,
but winter temps near average
[FEB. 11, 2003]
"January
2003 was well below average, the 28th coldest and 11th driest
January in Illinois since 1895, but temperatures for the winter as a
whole are near average. Statewide temperatures in January averaged
22.0 degrees (2.8 degrees below average), and precipitation was 0.72
inches (37 percent of average)," says Jim Angel, state climatologist
with the Illinois State Water
Survey, a division of the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources.
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Winter is now two-thirds over, and
colder January temperatures negated warm temperatures in December.
December-January temperatures averaged 27.1 degrees, just 0.2
degrees below average.
"Temperatures ranged from minus 15
degrees at Congerville on Jan. 27, the coldest reading, to 71
degrees at Grand Tower on Jan. 9, the warmest reading," says Angel.
Precipitation has been below average
since September, especially in northern Illinois, which received
just 1.55 inches (42 percent of average) in December-January, 2.24
inches (35 percent of average) in November-January and 6.62 inches
(53 percent of average) in September-January. "Statewide,
December-January totals were 3.03 inches (66 percent of average and
21st driest since 1895), November-January totals were 4.09 inches
(52 percent of average and 12th driest since 1895), and
September-January totals were 9.15 inches (65 percent of average and
13th driest since 1895)," continues Angel.
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this article] |
"The latest
U.S. Drought
Monitor indicates the northern half of Illinois is in moderate
drought, the first of four levels of drought. A band across
north-central Illinois is in severe drought, the second level. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction
Center expects this area of drought to persist through April and
expand southward into south-central Illinois. This outlook is based
on the tendency for a dry spring at the end of El Nino events, a
relationship that may not apply this spring because this event has
been weak.
"Timing and
intensity determine a drought's environmental effects, but there
have been relatively few impacts because this drought's core has not
been during the growing season. Historical data for Illinois
indicate only a 26 percent chance of a dry spring after a dry
September-January, so there is a fair chance of soil moisture
recovery this spring," concludes Angel.
[Illinois
State Water Survey press
release] |
