The National Weather Service Office in Lincoln has released their weather summary for the month of March. The central and southeastern Illinois region witnessed temperatures that were 5-8 degrees above normal, in which caused the growing season to start earlier than usual. Meteorologist Kirk *Huettl, of the National Weather Service in Lincoln, told Regional Radio News that March was like December of last year where it was mild and wet.

The region saw its first taste of severe weather as a low pressure system tracked across central Illinois on March 15, causing supercell thunderstorms to rotate, spawning four tornadoes, with two of them being EF-2 in Peoria and Springfield. Another band of scattered showers and strong storms impacted the region on March 30-31. Huettl says cooler temperatures will reside in early April, then shifting over to warmer temperatures later in the month.

To view the March weather summary, go to weather.gov/lincoln.