January weather was warmer than normal in Illinois...but the state's climatologist says a big change is coming.
State Climatologist Trent Ford says last month's temps were nearly two and a half degrees above average, but that isn't continuing into February.
“The stratospheric polar vortex is back to playing games and will help to push arctic air south into the Midwest this weekend and the well below average temperatures are expected to persist through next week. Forecasted daily high temperatures next week range from the single digits and low teens across northern and central Illinois to the low 20’s in southern Illinois. It’s likely many places across the state will see multiple days with nighttime low temperatures below zero. The Climate Prediction Center’s outlook indicates a high likelihood of below normal temperatures persisting through the middle of the month. Even the one month outlook for the entirety of February shows elevated odds of below normal temperatures across the state, representing quite a shift from the unusually mild winter we had so far.”
Ford says the long-term outlook also shows slightly elevated odds of above normal precipitation for February. The central part of the state continues to experience abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions.
