March 2019 Precipitation Highlights:

• An active storm track continued across central and southeast Illinois and brought above normal precipitation again to much of the area during March 2019 especially from I-74 south to I-70. Between 4 and 6 inches of precipitation fell during March over much of the area, with the heaviest amounts along and south of I-74.  Between 3 and 4 inches of precipitation fell over Stark, Marshall and northern Knox county, including Galesburg which was closer to 3 inches in Galesburg. Heavier rains fell over parts of central IL on Saturday March 9 with 1-2 inches and from March 28-30th with 1-3 inches of rain across the area. Lincoln had it's 8th wettest March on record, with 5.50 inches of rain. This abundant rainfall brought a fair amount of river flooding, including a frozen ground with the heavy rainfall on March 9th.  No severe weather was observed in central or southeast IL during March, though a tornado watch was issued during part of the day Thursday March 14 along I-74 corridor. Snowfall amounts in March averaged 1-3 inches with most of the snow falling on March 3rd and 7th.  But snowfall amounts varied from a trace in Galesburg to around 6 inches in Charleston during March. Areas along and north of I-74 had below normal snowfall by 1-2 inches, while areas south of I-74 were near or a few inches above normal for snowfall.

March Temperature Highlights:

• Temperatures during March 2019 were generally 3 to 5 degrees below normal with Jacksonville running 7 degrees below normal during the month.  The coldest stretch of the month was March 3-7th when temperatures averaged 10-30 degrees below normal, with a few areas dipping into the single digits below zero on Mar 4th.  March 4th also had the coldest highs during the month, in the low to mid teens. The mildest days during the month were March 13-14th with highs in the 60s in central IL, and lower 70s in southeast IL. March 28th was overall the mildest day of the month over central IL with highs in the upper 60s and lower 70s, and these mild spring temperatures lingered another day in far southeast IL by Lawrenceville on March 29th.
   

Climate Statistics:
 

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