Published in the Interest of the Staunton Community for Over 143 Years
Published in the Interest of the Staunton Community for Over 143 Years
Preliminary reports showed that December 2023 was the third warmest December on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey. In some Illinois locations, temperatures were as much as 10 degrees above average.
The average December temperature for the state was 39.2 degrees, 7.6 degrees above the 1991–2020 average. For the second time in three years Illinois has experienced an extremely mild December. Last month was the second warmest December in Rockford, the third warmest in Peoria, and the fourth warmest in Chicago and Moline.
None of the more than 120 National Weather Service stations in Illinois recorded a low temperature in the single digits last month, and many places hit the freezing mark only a handful of nights.
The December nighttime low temperatures were much higher than normal. The preliminary average December minimum temperature in Illinois is 32.2 degrees, which os the second highest on record statewide.
Precipitation
The preliminary statewide average total December precipitation was 2.99 inches, 0.56 inches above the 1991–2020 average.
December total precipitation ranged from just over 4 inches in parts of northern Illinois to less than 1 inch in parts of far southern Illinois. Most of northern Illinois was around 1 inch wetter than normal, while most of the state south of Interstate 64 was 1 to 3 inches drier than normal in December.
As is often the case in milder Decembers, snowfall was hard to come by across Illinois last month. December total snowfall ranged from around 4 inches in far northwest Illinois to less than a tenth of an inch in southern Illinois, between 1 and 8 inches below normal.
Outlooks for January show mostly equal chances of above and below normal temperatures and precipitation.
For more information about monthly Illinois weather summaries, current conditions, and climate, visit the Illinois State Climatologist website, http://stateclimatologist.web.illinois.edu/.
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