SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Christmas 2019 in Illinois wasn’t quite a holiday in the tropics, but it was definitely on the warmer side of mild.
The warmest Dec. 25 ever recorded at 68 different Illinois stations was one cog in the machine that made December 2019 the 18th-warmest such month in Illinois history, with an average temperature of 35.2 degrees.
Temps in the first half of the month were about average across the state. From Dec. 15-19, the mercury tended to dip below its average marker, but the rest of the month saw thermometers reading five to 25 degrees higher than normal.
State Climatologist Trent Ford said that warm spell rewrote some books.
“Between Dec. 20 and 31, over 100 daily maximum temperature records were broken across the state,” he said, “including the station in Kane County, besting its previous Christmas Day record high temperature by ten degrees.”
Along with higher temperatures than average came lower precipitation than usual, though the area between Peoria and St. Louis received close to four inches of snowfall above average.
The statewide precipitation average was 2.03 inches, or .66 inches below long-term average.
“This prolonged dry spell has caused soil and moisture in streams to descend to near- or slightly-below normal conditions,” said Ford.
“Considering the year we just ended and current spring outlooks, the temporary dryness is likely a welcome sight for most.”
January-March and March-May forecasts for 2020 showed a high likelihood of above-average precipitation.
