February was extremely mild

February was mild in Illinois.

The preliminary statewide average February temperature was 39.4 which is 8.3 degrees above the 1991-2020 average and the third warmest on record going back to 1895. Statewide preliminary average total precipitation was 0.53 inches, 1.58 inches below the 1991-2020 average and the fourth driest on record statewide.

State Climatologist Trent Ford reports that climatologically, February is the second coldest month for Illinois after January. February 2023 was considered mild at about four degrees above normal but last month made that February look cold.

February’s mild weather broke 186 daily high maximum temperature records. These included a 75-degree high in DeKalb on February 28 which beat the previous daily high record by a full 12 degrees. There were also 43 daily high minimum temperature records broken last month.