Bloomington-Normal experienced one of its coldest and snowiest Novembers on record, but a weather expert says that doesn't mean we are in for a long, cold winter.
Warning coordination meteorologist Chris Miller with the National Weather Service says based on past years, many early winters ended up being milder in January and February.
“A lot of those upcoming winters we actually a little more on the mild side with not as much snow,” Miller said. “Just starting out with a very active November doesn’t necessarily mean winter is here to stay and be brutal for the rest of winter.”
Miller added long term projections for this winter look favorable.
“A lot of our longer range outlook especially tied to the El Niño weather pattern, even though it’s weak to moderate, we see trending toward a little more mild (temperatures) and a little more in the way of less snow,” Miller said.
El Nino occurs when warmer waters in the Pacific Ocean remain above average for a prolonged period of time, carrying warmer air to North America.
Bloomington-Normal has already had five snow events this season, including the 1.5 inches measured three miles north of Normal early Monday.
The 7.5 inches of snow recorded this month is the fourth-highest total recorded in November, dating back to 1893 when record keeping began.
Bloomington-Normal recorded four inches of snow over Nov. 15-16 and got 1.5 inches on Nov. 9.
The snowfall record of 10.5 inches was set in 1895 and nearly matched in 1951.
This November also ranks as the eighth coldest on record, averaging 35.5 degrees in Bloomington-Normal. Miller said that’s nearly seven degrees below average.
The coldest November on record was set in 1996 at 33 degrees. The second-coldest was 2014, when the average temperature was 33.1 degrees.
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