Peoria, Ill. (WMBD) — The month of February pretty much summed up our winter season in Central Illinois, warm and relatively snow free. In Peoria, meteorological winter (December – February) ended up tied as the 8th warmest on record but it appears Spring will be off to a cooler start.

February Stats

Average TemperatureSnowfallPrecipitation
Peoria, IL35.9° (11th Warmest)0.1″ (Tied 3rd Least Snowy)3.32″ (10th Wettest)
Normal, ILTBDTBDTBD
** Note – Data from Normal, IL was not available by publication. Data will be added once it is available.

February ended up as one of the least snowy and warmest Februarys on record for Central Illinois but also ended up as one of the wettest. Other than a few days here and there, temperatures generally remained above average and most of the snow that fell across the state mainly fell across far northern Illinois. Peoria only received a tenth of an inch of snow the past month making it the 3rd least snowy February on record. 2006 and 1998 were tied for the top spot after only receiving a trace of snow during the month.

The lack of snow this month bucked the recent trend of snowier than average Februarys for the Peoria area. The chart below shows the top 10 snowiest Februarys on record. you’ll notice that many of those snowy Februarys occurred after 2007.

(Ranking) YearFebruary Snowfall Amount
(1) 201422.9″
(2) 201120.9″
(3) 202219.2″
(4) 201018.3″
(5) 200817.0″
(6) 198915.2″
(7) 202114.7″
(8) 198613.9″
(9) 200713.3″
(10) 201512.8″

However, what we lacked in snow we made up in rain. A series of storm systems brought repeated rounds of heavy rain and storms leaving much of the area with 2-3 inches of rain making it one of the wettest Februarys on record for the Peoria area.

You can see the statewide stats in the slideshow below.

Meteorological Winter Stats (December – February)

Average TemperatureSnowfallPrecipitation
Peoria, IL32.9° (Tied 8th Warmest)12.7″ (24th Least Snowy)7.75″ (16th Wettest)
Normal, ILTBDTBDTBD
** Note – Data from Normal, IL was not available by publication. Data will be added once it is available.

Meteorological winter ended up as the 8th warmest on record for the Peoria area with an average temperature of 32.9°. Peoria also received just about half of our seasonal snowfall with 12.7″ of snow making it the 24th least snowy winter on record. Still, despite the lack of snow we still ended up wetter than average thanks to a very rainy February making this the 16th wettest winter on record.

You can see the statewide stats in the slideshow below.

March Outlook

It appears the script will flip this month as the Climate Prediction Center’s March Outlook calls for below average temperatures and above average precipitation across Central Illinois. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to be a frigid or snowy month. Average temperatures in the month of March are not all that cold to begin with and they get much warmer as the month goes on. So, while colder temperatures increase the chances of some late season snows, it’s far from a sure thing. We could just as easily end up with chilly rains as we’ve seen so often over the past few months.

You can see Peoria’s March temperature stats in the chart below.

March 1stMarch 15thMarch 31st
Average Temperature Normal35.4°41.1°47.2°
Max Temperature Normal44.4°50.8°57.8°
Low Temperature Normal26.4°31.3°36.6°

Spring Outlook (March – May)

The latest spring outlook from the Climate Prediction Center calls for an Equal Chance of seeing near average, below average, or above average temperatures while there’s more confidence that the area will continue to see above average precipitation. While not a guarantee, the current pattern could leave Central Illinois with more opportunities for severe storms over the next couple of months.