Illinois was Cold and Dry in November

[December 08, 2014]  CHAMPAIGN - November was much colder and drier than average. The statewide average temperature was 34.3 degrees, which is 8.2 degrees below average, and the fourth coldest November on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel, Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

In comparison, November 1976 was the coldest November on record at 33.4 degrees.

The cold November was not confined to Illinois. November was colder than average for most states from the Rockies eastward. Just like the winter of 2013-2014, the Midwest saw the largest departures from average. Meanwhile, warmer-than-average conditions prevailed in California and the Southwest.

The average temperature for January through November 2014 was 50.9 degrees, 3.5 degrees below average. It was the second coldest January-November on record and tied with 1917. The coldest January-November on record was 50.8 degrees, which occurred in both 1904 and 1979.

The statewide average precipitation for November 2014 was 1.94 inches, 1.53 inches below average. The statewide average for January through November was 39.41 inches, which is 2.14 inches above average. Neither total was near a record.

After wetter-than-average conditions in August, September, and October, the drier November was not a concern for soil moisture or stream flows.

 November snowfall was interesting in that many areas in southern Illinois saw more snow than some areas in central and northern Illinois. Amounts of 2 to 5 inches were seen south of Interstate 70, while amounts were generally less than 2 inches north of Interstate 70.

“After the exceptionally cold weather in November, the National Weather Service is forecasting a greater chance of above-average temperatures for the next two weeks,” according to Angel.

[Lisa Sheppard, Illinois State Water Survey]

The Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a division of the Prairie Research Institute, is the primary agency in Illinois concerned with water and atmospheric resources.