Illinois winter weather outlook warmer and wetter

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Illinois winter weather outlook warmer and wetter

The winter weather outlook shows mixed temperatures and wetter than normal conditions for Illinois this year.

State Climatologist Trent Ford says winter conditions will be influenced by a La Nina pattern in the pacific.

“So overall the outlook for winter is looking like the best chances for warmer than normal or near normal temperatures and slightly elevated odds for wetter than normal conditions.”

But he says La Nina only paints a general picture for Illinois winter.

“The way we think about winter tends not to be the winter season average but instead the very intense snowfall events and cold air outbreaks. Because those are less tightly linked with La Nina, it is still possible that even though our season could be warmer and wetter than average we can still see some of those cold air outbreaks coming in.”

Ford says increased precipitation this winter would help alleviate the deficit many areas of the states are dealing with this fall. 

Comments from an interview with Trent Ford

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