The National Weather Service Office in Lincoln has released their Winter Weather Summary for the months of December, January, and February. Overall, there was above normal temperatures and precipitation, and below normal snowfall totals for central and southeast Illinois. Seasonal temperatures were six or seven degrees above normal, which many communities witness one of their top ten warmest winters. Chris Miller, Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Lincoln, told Regional Radio News that this winter will go down in history due to the heavy rains and significant flooding that occurred following Christmas.

Miller noted they were surprised by the amount of heavy rain that fell which is uncommon at that time of the year and were also surprised by not having as many cold days during a typical El Nino-type winter. Miller says the outlook for spring indicates above normal temperatures to continue and precipitation to be below normal.

The winter weather summary can be viewed by going to weather.gov/lincoln.