This Winter Is Illinois' Sixth Warmest So Far
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (CBS) -- Some slightly colder air should be moving into Chicago for the weekend, but, for the most part, this has been one of Illinois' warmest winters ever.
As WBBM Newsradio's Regine Schlesinger reports, climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois Water Survey says the average temperature statewide was 31.4 degrees – about 7 degrees above normal.
The average temperature for December and January was 33.4 degrees. That makes it the sixth warmest December-January period since 1895.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Regine Schlesinger reports
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That makes this past January the 13th warmest on record.
The warmest temperatures of the season so far were all recorded downstate.
The Metro East St. Louis city of Belleville, and the historical town of Kaskaskia, each recorded temperatures of 69 degrees on Jan. 6, and the deep Southern Illinois city of Cairo hit 69 on Jan. 18.
The coldest reading was minus 6 in Elizabeth and Galena, in northwest Illinois, on Jan. 12.
Back in Chicago, CBS 2 Meteorologist Megan Glaros says the temperatures will actually make it seem like February, with highs in the mid-30s. Some flurries may be coming after midnight Wednesday morning.
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