December 2023 Climate Summary
December2023 Precipitation Highlights:
• Much of central Illinois received above normal precipitation for the month of December. The notable
exceptions were to areas across southeast and south central Illinois where below normal precipitation was
observed and where drought conditions worsened.
• No daily or monthly precipitation records were broken in December 2023. The wettest day of the month
came December 1st, when between 0.60”-1.00” fell at each of Peoria, Springfield, and Lincoln. The next
wettest day of the month came December 25
th
, when between 0.50”-0.60” fell.
Central Illinois
Weather Forecast Office
Dec 28 2023 Drought Update:
• The following contains information on the drought conditions across Illinois as of late December 2023.
• Intensity: Areas of D2 (Severe) Drought have been analyzed south of the Interstate 70 corridor in
southeast and south central Illinois, but also across far west central Illinois. The annual precipitation deficit
was between 8-10” within these areas. Elsewhere across portions of northern and central Illinois, drought
conditions showed modest improvement thanks to above normal precipitation observed at many sites
during the month of December.
• Please continue to report drought conditions (including improvements) in your area via: Condition
Monitoring Reports
Central Illinois
Weather Forecast Office
December 2023 Snowfall Highlights:
• A moderate-to-strong El Niño helped prop-up temperatures in December such that most of the precipitation
that occurred fell as rain and not snow. This led to a 2-6” snowfall deficit across central Illinois.
• The majority of the snowfall that did occur in December came between the 28th-29th when 1-3” fell.
• At Lincoln, December 2023 goes down tied for the third least snowiest on record since 1906.
Central Illinois
Weather Forecast Office
December 2023 Temperature Highlights:
• It was an unusually warm December for much of the Midwest region. Again, we think this is tied to a
moderate-to-strong El Niño, a climate pattern known to have a significant impact on global climate
patterns.
• As seen in the images below, climate sites across central Illinois experienced temperatures 7-9 °F warmer
than what is considered normal for the month of December.
• In retrospect, December 2023 goes down as one of the warmest on record:
• Peoria: 3rd warmest on record (since 1883)
• Springfield: 5th warmest on record (since 1880)
• Lincoln: 5th warmest on record (since 1906)
Central Illinois
Weather Forecast Office
Climate Statistics for December 2023:
Central Illinois
Weather Forecast Office
The following links are the monthly climate summaries for area cities. Only the summaries for Peoria,
Springfield, and Lincoln are considered "official", meaning they are the station of record for their respective
locations. The other summaries are "supplemental", meaning another location in the area is the official
climate station for the city.
Peoria -- Peoria International Airport
Springfield -- Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport
Lincoln -- National Weather Service Office
Champaign -- University of Illinois-Willard Airport
Decatur -- Decatur Airport
Lawrenceville -- Lawrenceville-Vincennes International Airport
Mattoon -- Coles County Memorial Airport
Climate data for other cities is available at http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ilx
Site
Precipitation
(inches)
Departure
from
Normal
Temperature
(F)
Departure
from
Normal
Snowfall
(inches)
Departure
from
Normal
Charleston
2.17
-
0.62
41.6
7.3
0.5
-
2.5
Danville
3.21
0.48
38.8
6.4
0.0
-
3.0
Decatur
3.14
0.74
39.2
7.4
0.0
-
3.5
Effingham
2.96
0.19
N/A
N/A
0.3
-
2.1
Galesburg
3.09
0.95
36.8
9.0
1.0
-
4.9
Jacksonville
3.91
1.93
40.3
8.1
0.7
-
2.8
Lincoln
2.96
0.67
38.8
7.7
0.1
-
4.8
Norma l
2.71
0.41
38.3
8.5
0.0
-
3.6
Olney
2.81
-
0.69
41.7
7.7
0.2
-
2.5
Paris
2.41
-
0.44
39.5
8.9
1.2
-
2.8
Peoria
3.05
0.84
39.9
9.0
0.9
-
5.3
Springfield
2.98
0.83
40.5
7.6
1.0
-
3.3
Taylorville
2.56
0.34
39.3
N/A
0.2
N/A
Urbana
4.03
1.63
39.1
8.0
0.4
-
4.4
January 2024 Look Ahead:
• Official outlooks from NOAA's Climate Predication Center show equal chances for above or below normal
temperatures over Illinois, and elevated chances (33-40%) for above normal precipitation across western
Illinois for the month of January.
Central Illinois
Weather Forecast Office
