Illinois winter so far is 6th warmest on record

CHAMPAIGN – Weather trackers say Illinois’ winter has been the sixth warmest on record.

State climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois Water Survey says the average temperature in January for the state was 31.4 degrees. That’s about 7 degrees above normal, making January the 13th warmest on record.

Belleville, Kaskaskia and Cairo recorded the warmest temperature readings of the month. All three cities reached 69 degrees. Belleville and Kaskaskia hit that temperature Jan. 6. Cairo reached 69 degrees Jan. 18.

The coldest reading was 6 degrees below zero at Elizabeth and Galena on Jan. 12.

The average temperature for December and January was 33.4 degrees. That makes it the sixth warmest December-January period since 1895.

The Illinois Water Survey is located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.