Will the metro-east get hit with another winter storm? The outlook for warm temps, snow
As Belleville sees high temperatures as warm as 65 degrees Fahrenheit this week, only a few piles of snow remain from late January’s Winter Storm Fern.
The National Weather Service St. Louis office forecasts above-normal temperatures in Belleville for Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and Monday, with a couple of colder days sprinkled in between.
“Right now, the probabilities are for above-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation, so warm and wet for the next two weeks or so,” Jon Carney, NWS St. Louis meteorologist, told the News-Democrat Tuesday.
The relatively mild weather comes after record-breaking warmth earlier in the season, along with daily snowfall records broken Nov. 29, Dec. 2 and Jan. 25, Carney said. The greater St. Louis region has seen 18.5 inches of snow this winter as of Feb. 10, and the typical snowfall total for this time of year is 11.1 inches.
The St. Louis area saw record-breaking high temperatures Dec. 28 at 78 degrees and Jan. 9 at 66 degrees.
“It’s kind of been a winter of extremes,” Carney said.
When the record-breaking warm days are considered along with the bitterly cold temperatures in late January, the winter averages out to slightly above-normal temperatures overall, Carney said.
While metro-east residents can enjoy some warmer days in the forecast for mid-February, it’s not too late to rule out another snowstorm this season.
“We can get big snowstorms even into mid- to late March,” Carney said. “The chance for snow getting into April goes way down, because we just get too warm at that point.”
The Climate Prediction Center’s three-month seasonal outlook says the metro-east has equal chances of below- or above-normal temperatures from February through April, with a 40 to 50% probability of above-normal precipitation.
Typical winter, spring weather in Belleville
Although it’s possible southwest Illinois will see another major snowstorm this winter, residents can expect warmer temperatures and more daylight as spring approaches.
Here’s how Belleville’s typical temperatures and precipitation totals compare for February through May, according to NWS data from 1991 to 2020.
February:
- Average total monthly precipitation: 2.16 inches
- Low temperature normal: 28 degrees Fahrenheit
- High temperature normal: 48.6
- Average temperature: 38.3
March:
- Average total monthly precipitation: 3.44 inches
- Low temperature normal: 36.3
- High temperature normal: 59.2
- Average temperature: 47.8
April:
- Average total monthly precipitation: 4.9 inches
- Low temperature normal: 46
- High temperature normal: 70.6
- Average temperature: 58.3
May:
- Average total monthly precipitation: 5.05 inches
- Low temperature normal: 56.3
- High temperature normal: 79.1
- Average temperature: 67.7
By the end of February, Belleville will see sunsets as late as 5:52 p.m., reaching 7:22 p.m. by the end of March, 7:50 p.m. by late April and 8:17 p.m. by May 31.
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