New NWS Outlooks for April and Beyond

The NOAA Climate Prediction Center released their latest outlooks for April and beyond today. Areas without shading are labeled EC for equal chances of above, below, and near-average conditions.

April

Here are the outlooks for April for temperature (left) and precipitation (right). Nothing much to report temperatures but the northern third of Illinois has an increased chance of below-average precipitation. This area has been dry all winter. Click to enlarge.

Tracking Illinois Soil Temperatures

As the snow turns to mud this week, this is a good time to advertise links for the soil temperatures in Illinois. The Water Survey operates a 19-station network of sites around the state collecting hourly soil temperatures at 4 and 8 inches under grass as well as an estimate under bare ground.

All this information can be found at the Illinois Climate Network Soil Data site. Below is just a screenshot of that page to show where you would find that information on the real web page.

Here is a snapshot of 4-inch soil temperatures as of 10 am, March 13, 2015. Soil temperatures are still near the freezing mark in the northern half of the state, but warm into the 40s and low 50s in the southern half of the state.

Historical Tornadoes in Illinois and the US

While tornadoes can happen any time of the year, the tornado season really starts to ramp up in March in Illinois (see plot below) and remains active through the spring and on into summer. April, May, and June are the three standout months historically. So far 2015 has been very quiet with no severe weather reported in Illinois so far, according to NOAA.

You can see more plots like this on our tornado plots page.

Historical Tornado Tracks

How February and This Winter Stacked Up in Illinois

Here are the time series plots of the statewide average temperature for February and winter (December-January-February) from 1895 to present (source: NOAA NCDC).

February

In the first plot, I have a red box around the temperature for 2014 and 2015. The only other time that we had a pair of extremely cold Februarys was 1978 and 1979. All the other cold Februarys were one-off events. According to NCDC, the statewide average temperature for February 2015 in Illinois was 19.5 degrees and the 9th coldest on record. Last February was nearly identical at 19.4 degrees.

Winter

Last Below Zero Weather of the Season? I Hope.

Here are the lows this morning, courtesy of the National Weather Service office in Lincoln. Areas in blue were below zero. Champaign-Urbana reached -9 degrees, breaking the old record of 4 degrees set in 1899.

Of course, widespread snow cover (map below), clear skies, and calm winds were contributing factors in the hopefully last round of below-zero weather this season. 

24 HOUR MINIMUM TEMPERATURE DATA IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT,
FOR ILLINOIS AND THE SURROUNDING STATES, INCLUDING
24-HR DATA THROUGH 7 AM, FRIDAY MARCH 6, 2015.

 
  ILLINOIS 

    DANVILLE AIRPORT                      -10
    ELIZABETH                             -10
    FREEPORT                              -10
    MCHENRY                               -10
    ROCHELLE AIRPORT                      -10
    CHAMPAIGN WILLARD AIRPORT              -9
    DECATUR AIRPORT                        -9
    SIDELL 5NW                             -9
    STERLING AIRPORT                       -9
    PAW PAW 2NW                            -7
    WATSEKA                                -7
    MATTOON AIRPORT                        -6
    OGDEN                                  -6
    PANA SEWAGE PLANT                      -6
    PAXTON 2WSW                            -6
    ALTONA                                 -5
    AURORA AIRPORT                         -5
    DIXON                                  -5
    DWIGHT                                 -5
    LINCOLN NWS                            -5
    NEOGA 4NW                              -5
    ROBINSON WTYE                          -5
    ROCHELLE                               -5
    ROCKFORD AIRPORT                       -5
    ROSICLARE                              -5
    WAUKEGAN AIRPORT                       -5
    BARRINGTON 3SW                         -4
    EFFINGHAM 3SW                          -4
    KEWANEE                                -4
    PARIS SEWAGE PLANT                     -4
    RAMSEY                                 -4
    SULLIVAN 3S                            -4
    MONMOUTH                               -3
    MUNDELEIN 4WSW                         -3
    TUSCOLA                                -3
    BROOKPORT DAM                          -2
    CARBONDALE AIRPORT                     -2
    CHICAGO DUPAGE AIRPORT                 -2
    COAL CITY 4NNW                         -2
    KANKAKEE                               -2
    LACON AIRPORT                          -2
    PRAIRIE CITY 2S                        -2
    GRAND CHAIN DAM                        -1
    MINONK                                 -1
    MORRIS                                 -1
    MT VERNON                              -1
    OLNEY 2S                               -1
    BLOOMINGTON 5W                          0
    CHICAGO OHARE AIRPORT                   0
    GALESBURG                               0
    MOLINE AIRPORT                          0
    OTTAWA 5SW                              0
    SMITHLAND LOCK AND DAM                  0
    SPRINGFIELD CAPITAL AIRPORT             0
    WINDSOR SEWAGE PLANT                    0
    ELGIN                                   1
    JOLIET LOCK AND DAM                     1
    LAWRENCEVILLE-VINCENNES AIRPORT         1
    MACOMB AIRPORT                          1
    PERRY                                   1
    SPRINGFIELD NE                          1
    AURORA                                  2
    CASEY                                   2
    CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDENS                 2
    GLADSTONE LOCK AND DAM 18               2
    JACKSONVILLE                            2
    NEW BOSTON LOCK AND DAM 17              2
    NORMAL 4NE                              2
    PARK FOREST                             2
    WINCHESTER                              2
    GRIGGSVILLE                             3
    PEORIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT            3
    RUSHVILLE 4NE                           3
    WHEATON                                 3
    CHICAGO WHEELING AIRPORT                4
    JERSEYVILLE 2SW                         4
    PITTSFIELD                              5
    BENTLEY                                 6
    CHICAGO MIDWAY AIRPORT                  6
    NASHVILLE                               7
    QUINCY AIRPORT                          7
    QUINCY LOCK AND DAM 21                  8
    KASKASKIA LOCKS                        10
    CAHOKIA AIRPORT                        14