The National Weather Service in Lincoln has released its 2025 Year in Review, and it shows Central and Southeast Illinois experienced a year of significant weather extremes. According to the report, temperatures finished above normal for much of 2025, particularly during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. Winter temperatures were closer to normal, though precipitation during the winter months ran below average 

January brought one of the year’s most impactful winter storms, with six to ten inches of snow south of a Rushville-to-Lincoln-to-Peoria line. That storm also led to a massive pileup involving up to 50 vehicles on Interstate 70 near Effingham. Later in the month, bitter cold settled in, with temperatures dropping to 10 to 15 degrees below zero, and wind chills reaching as low as 35 below zero in some areas 

Spring turned active quickly, with multiple tornado outbreaks across the region. In early April, an EF-2 tornado tracked nearly 50 miles along the I-70 corridor, while additional outbreaks in April and May brought large hail and damaging winds. One of the more unusual events of the year occurred on May 16th, when a powerful dust storm reduced visibility to near zero and closed portions of I-74 between Bloomington and Farmer City 

Summer continued the trend of extremes, bringing dangerous heat and flash flooding. Heat index values climbed to between 105 and 110 degrees in late July, and one heat-related death was reported in Peoria. Heavy rain events caused flash flooding in several communities, including Bloomington-Normal and parts of southern Illinois 

Fall turned unusually dry, with much below-normal rainfall across much of Central Illinois. Peoria recorded its second driest September on record, as drought conditions expanded and burn bans were issued in multiple counties by early autumn 

The year wrapped up with another round of severe weather and a major Thanksgiving weekend winter storm, which dropped up to a foot of snow in some areas and set a new November snowfall record in Springfield.

Overall, the National Weather Service reports 53 tornadoes across its Lincoln coverage area in 2025, underscoring what forecasters say was an exceptionally active and impactful weather year for Central and Southeast Illinois.