Table 1. Illinois Precipitation (inches) and Temperature ( o F) by Crop Reporting District

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1 ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Illinois State Water Survey Derek Winstanley, Chief 04 Griffith Dr., Champaign, IL 680 Tel (7) 333- Fax (7) ILLINOIS WATER AND CLIMATE SUMMARY December 0 Contact December 0 Overview (Bob Scott) Temperatures in Illinois during December were colder than any December on record since 895 Precipitation was below average Soil moisture within the top 40 inches of soil was slightly below the long-term statewide average Mean streamflows were near median heights, and shallow ground-water levels were above the long-term average depths Temperatures across Illinois (Figure ) for December were well below average (a - 9-degree departure) Crop reporting district temperatures ranged from 8 degrees below average (northeast) to 3 4 degrees below average (west) Precipitation amounts (Figure ) were below the long-term average value for the month The statewide average of inches represents a -0 7-inch departure or percent of average District precipitation totals ranged from 55 inches (west) to 3 60 inches (southeast) Percent of average amounts ranged from 54 percent (west-southwest) to 99 percent (northwest) Soil moisture across Illinois in the 0- to 40-inch (0- to 0-centimeter) layer at the end of December (Figure ) was slightly below normal Near the surface, soil moisture conditions were near normal across the state, while in deeper layers, below normal soil moisture levels continued over northwestern and central Illinois, and above normal conditions were found in southeastern sections The substantial snow cover currently overlying much of the state implies a high potential for adequate near surface soil moisture across Illinois at the start of the growing season as springtime melting occurs Mean provisional streamflow statewide for December was near the median flow, 8 percent of median (Figure ) Most rivers in northern Illinois recorded mean discharges in the normal to above normal range this month Rivers in central Illinois had flows ranging from below normal to normal River flows in southern Illinois were in the normal range for December Peak stages were well below flood stage on the Illinois River, the Mississippi River at stations along the Illinois border, and the Ohio River station at Cairo Water surface levels at the end of December were below the normal pool at 5 of 38 reporting reservoirs Water surface levels at Carlyle Lake, Lake Shelbyville, and Rend Lake were above the target operating levels at the end of December Lake Michigan s mean level remains below the long-term average Statewide, shallow ground-water levels were above average for December by 0 feet Levels averaged 0 4 feet above levels observed last month and were approximately 3 feet above December 999 levels Note: The WARM Network maps and extended network descriptions appear in the January and July issues Bob Scott: (7) , r-scott5@uiuc.edu On the Web at 8 Temperature, deg F Precipitation, inches Soil Moisture (0-40 in. layer), inches Streamflow, % of Median Ground-water Level, feet D99 J00 F M A M J J A S O N D MONTH Figure Statewide departures from normal

2 Weather/Climate Information (Nancy Westcott, Jim Angel, and Bob Scott) Cook County Precipitation November precipitation amounts (Figure ) were moderate Site values for the month ranged from 3 7 inches at site #5 (Lemont) to 0 inches at site # (near Bedford Park) Precipitation was heaviest along the western border of the network and lightest in the central region of the network The November 0 network average of 64 inches was about 85 percent of the -year ( ) November network average of 3 09 inches Temperatures across Illinois for December were much colder than average statewide (Figure 3 and Table ) Indeed, this was the coldest December in Illinois since 895 Departures were fairly uniform across all crop reporting districts (CRDs) with coldest temperatures occurring in the western CRD Widespread snow cover during the latter half of the month contributed to low nighttime temperatures Nevertheless, few record lows were broken The warmest reading for the month, 60 F, occurred on December at Cairo, while the coldest reading, -6 F, occurred on December 5 at Rockford River Precipitation was below above average statewide (Figure 3 and Table ) with the west-southwest CRD reporting only 54 percent of average precipitation Precipitation was heaviest in far southeastern Illinois Dixon Springs reported the largest one-day precipitation total, 53 inches on December, and the largest monthly amount, 4 3 inches Snowfall totals were much above average over most of the state Midway Airport Figure Cook County precipitation (inches) during November 0 in Chicago set a new 4-hour snowfall record on December, 4 5 inches, breaking the previous daily record set in December 960 Midway Airport also recorded Illinois largest snowfall total for the month, 4 inches, another new December record for that station Most locations reported three to four times their average December snowfall totals Even southern Illinois reported snowfall amounts in excess of 8 inches, with heavy amounts at Plumfield (7 inches) and Belleville (9 6 inches) December 0 was much different than Decembers in recent years The last three Decembers were influenced by either El Niño or La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean Statistics suggest that both events are associated with milder winter conditions in Illinois and fewer than average cold air outbreaks This year neither El Niño nor La Niña N Scale of Miles Lake Michigan ILLINOIS 3 INDIANA Midway Airport (4.") Temperature Difference from Average ( o F) 3 4 Precipitation (inches) Snowfall (inches Figure 3 Illinois temperature, precipitation, and snowfall during December 0

3 Table. Illinois Precipitation (inches) and Temperature ( o F) by Crop Reporting District Crop Reporting District Dec 00 Amount Last Month Last 3 Months Last 6 Months Last Months % Temp Oct 00- % Temp Jul 00- % Temp Jan 00- % Avg Dev Dec 00 Avg Dev Dec 00 Avg Dev Dec 00 Avg Temp Dev Northwest Northeast West Central East West-southwest East-southeast Southwest Southeast State Average Note: Data are provisional. Complete, quality controlled data are available about three months after a given month. was present in the Pacific, leading to neutral conditions in sea surface temperatures Statistics suggest that these conditions in winter are associated with colder than normal temperatures across Illinois As of December 3, the Illinois Department of Transportation reported spending $30 6 million on ice and snow removal out of a $36 million budget for these activities for the entire winter The severe winter weather has also led to airport delays and an increase in traffic accidents across the state Increased energy demands this December, coupled with higher natural gas prices, have led to much higher heating bills for consumers Citing month-long effects of severe winter storms, Gov George Ryan has declared the entire state a disaster area Severe weather There were no reports of severe convective weather in Illinois during December Illinois Climate Network (ICN) Data Average daily wind speeds across Illinois for December (Figure 4) ranged from 4 9 mph at Dixon Springs to 3 mph at Stelle The highest wind gusts for the month, 46 mph, occurred at Stelle on December 5 The prevailing wind direction for the month was generally west to west-northwest across the state Wind speeds in excess of 8 mph for the month ranged from near 30 hours at Dixon Springs and Springfield to nearly 500 hours at Monmouth (December has 744 hours ) Average temperatures across the state varied from F at DeKalb to 4 F at Carbondale and Dixon Springs Solar radiation moved toward a seasonal minimum, ranging from 58 Mega-Joules per meter squared (MJ/m ) in St Charles to 5 MJ/m at Dixon Springs Potential evapotranspiration was also minimal, varying from 0 6 inches at Freeport and St Charles to nearly 0 9 inches at Carbondale Soil temperatures at the 4-inch level ranged from near 3 F across northern Illinois to the upper 30s in far southern Illinois Soil temperatures at the 8-inch level ranged from 33 F across northern Illinois to near 40 F at Rend Lake Extended climate outlooks issued by the U S Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Climate Prediction Center for January and for January March call for a slight chance of colder than normal temperatures across northern Illinois and equal chances of above, below, and normal temperatures elsewhere Precipitation outlooks for both periods call for equal chances of above, below, and normal precipitation statewide, except for a slight chance of above normal precipitation over southeastern Illinois Soil Moisture Information (Bob Scott) Soil moisture conditions across Illinois at the end of December were near normal in the 0- to 6- and 6- to 0-inch layers (Figure 5) Topeka and Stelle reported the most extreme amounts, 5 and percent of normal in the top layer, respectively Soil moisture in the 0- to 40- and 40- to 7-inch layers continued to show dry subsurface conditions in parts of northwestern, central, and far southern Illinois (less than 5 percent of normal at Peoria) and above normal moisture conditions across southeastern Illinois Levels exceeded 50 percent of normal at Rend Lake and Olney in the 40- to 7-inch layer Overall, soil moisture in Illinois for December averaged slightly below the long-term normal (Figure ) Compared to one month ago, soil moisture in the 0- to 6-inch layer increased by roughly 0 percent in northwestern and far southern Illinois (Table ) Most of the rest of the state reported little change, except for a 7 percent decrease at Stelle Moisture conditions changed little in the 6- to 0- and 0- to 40-inch layers, except for about a 5 percent increase at Carbondale in both layers 3

4 Average Wind Speed (mph) Average Wind Direction (deg) Total Hours Wind 50 Speed Above 8 mph Average Temperature (deg F) Total Solar Radiation (MJ/m*m) Total Potential Evapotranspiration (in) 36 Average 4 Inch ( cm) Soil Temperature (deg F) 38 Average 8 Inch (0 cm) Soil Temperature (deg F) Figure 4 December monthly averages and totals as collected by the Illinois Climate Network

5 < > inch Soil Layer 6-0 inch Soil Layer < inch Soil Layer inch Soil Layer Figure 5 January observed percent-of-normal soil moisture based on mean 5

6 Table. Soil Moisture in Various Layers on January, Location Jan 0-6 (inches) Change from Dec (%) Jan 6-0 (inches) Change from Dec (%) Jan 0-40 (inches) Change from Dec (%) Freeport (NW) DeKalb (NE) Monmouth (W) East Peoria (C) Topeka (C) Stelle (E) Champaign (E) Bondville (E) Perry (WSW) Springfield (WSW) Brownstown (ESE) Olney (ESE) Belleville (SW) Carbondale (SW) Ina (SE) Fairfield (SE) Dixon Springs (SE) Surface Water Information (Sally McConkey) River and stream discharge and stage data are obtained from gaging stations operated by the U S Geological Survey (USGS) or the U S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) The USGS gaging station network is supported in part by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Water Resources and Illinois State Water Survey, and USACE Provisional discharge data are obtained from direct computer access to USGS Table 3 lists selected streamgaging stations located on the Illinois, Mississippi, and Ohio Rivers, flood stage, and the provisional peak stage for the current month The peak stage is determined from the daily morning reading posted by the National Weather Service and/or USACE Peak stages at sites along the Illinois River were reached mainly during the second half of the month, while on the Mississippi River along the Illinois border and on the Ohio River at Cairo, the date of peak stage varied between the first and third week of December Peak stages were below to well below flood stages at all sites Table 4 lists 6 streamgaging stations located throughout Illinois Provisional monthly mean flows posted by USGS are listed, if available; otherwise, daily mean discharge data posted by USGS were used to estimate the mean flow for the month Long-term mean flows for each month are published by USGS The month s median flow for each station listed in Table 4 was determined by ranking the December mean flow for each year of record, and selecting the middle value, 50 percent exceedence probability Mean flows in northern third of Illinois were normal to above normal for this time of year Flow conditions in the below normal range were observed across central Illinois in a band extending from Bear Creek near Marceline in Adams County to the Vermilion River (Wabash Basin) near Danville in Vermilion County Rivers in south-central and southern Illinois experienced normal flows Mean provisional flow statewide was near the median for this month (8 percent of the median) and below the mean (63 percent of the mean) Water-Supply Lakes and Major Reservoirs Table 5 lists reservoirs in Illinois and their month-end water surface elevation, normal pool, and other data related to observed variations in water surface elevations Reservoir levels are obtained from a network of cooperating reservoir operators who are contacted each month by Survey staff for current water levels Most reservoirs listed in Table 5 serve as public water supplies, with the exceptions noted in the last column 6

7 Table 3. Peak Stages for Major Rivers, December 0 River Station River mile* Illinois Flood stage (feet)* Peak stage (feet)** Date Morris La Salle Peoria Havana *** 7*** Beardstown Hardin Mississippi Dubuque Keokuk Quincy Grafton St. Louis Chester Thebes Ohio Cairo Notes: *River mile and flood stage from River Stages in Illinois: Flood and Damage Data, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Water Resources, July 998. **Peak stage based on daily a.m. readings, not instantaneous peak. *** Illinois River at Havana gage data for /3-/3 unavailable. Compared to levels at 38 reservoirs at the end of November, the water surface elevation at the end of December had risen at reservoirs and decreased at 5 reservoirs The reported elevation was the same as last month at reservoirs With the exception of Lake Carlyle, changes in water surface elevation at public water-supply reservoirs during last month were less than a foot For the 38 reservoirs reporting at the end of December, 5 reservoirs had water surface levels above the normal pool (or target operating level), 8 reservoirs were at normal pool, and 5 reservoirs were below normal pool Water levels at Lake Bloomington and Lake Evergreen have not recovered from the summer/autumn drawdown and were 9 7 and 8 8 feet below the spillway crest, respectively While 9 3 million gallons of water were pumped from the Mackinaw River to Lake Evergreen during November, no withdrawals were made from the Mackinaw River during December The water level at Canton reservoir continued to decline, dropping 0 9 feet, with a resulting month-end water level 5 feet below normal Most reporting public water-supply reservoirs were within a foot of normal pool Major Reservoirs Water levels at Carlyle Lake and Lake Shelbyville were lowered significantly during December to manage flood storage, but remained higher than target elevations Rend Lake ended December with a water level above target elevation Great Lakes Current month mean and end-of-month values are provisional and are relative to International Great Lakes Datum 985 The December mean level for Lake Michigan was feet, compared to a mean level of feet in 999 The long-term average lake level for December is feet, based on data Historically, the lowest mean level for Lake Michigan in December, feet, occurred in 964, and the highest level, feet, occurred in 986 The month-end level of Lake Michigan was feet The USACE 6-month forecast for Lakes Michigan-Huron is for levels to continue below normal 7

8 Table 4. Provisional Mean Flows, December 0 Drainage Years 0 Long-term flows Percent Days of area of mean flow Mean* Median chance of data this Station (sq mi) record (cfs) (cfs) (cfs) Flow condition exceedence month Rock River at Rockton 6, ,083 3,64,930 above normal 5 3 Rock River near Joslin 9, ,853 5,05 4,865 normal 3 3 Pecatonica River at Freeport, normal 40 3 Green River near Geneseo, normal 64 3 Edwards River near New Boston normal 58 3 Kankakee River at Momence,94 8,68,000,79 above normal 5 3 Iroquois River near Chebanse, , normal 67 6 Fox River at Dayton,64 80,955,49,40 above normal 3 Vermilion River at Pontiac below normal 3 Spoon River at Seville, normal 47 3 LaMoine River at Ripley, below normal 77 3 Bear Creek near Marceline below normal 7 Mackinaw River near Congerville below normal 8 3 Salt Creek near Greenview, , normal 4 9 Sangamon River at Monticello normal 58 3 So. Fork Sangamon near Rochester normal 34 3 Illinois River at Valley City 6,743 6,439 8,040 4,937 normal 5 0 Macoupin Creek near Kane normal 44 3 Vermilion River near Danville, below normal 7 3 Kaskaskia River at Vandalia,940 30,700,056,339 normal 34 9 Shoal Creek near Breese normal 4 3 Embarras River at Ste. Marie, , normal 45 3 Skillet Fork at Wayne City normal 60 3 Little Wabash below Clay City,3 85 5,05 45 normal 48 3 Big Muddy at Plumfield normal Cache River at Forman normal 58 3 Notes: Much below normal flow = 90-0% chance of exceedence. Below normal flow = 70-90% chance of exceedence. Normal flow = 30-70% chance of exceedence. Above normal flow = -30% chance of exceedence. Much above normal flow = 0-% chance of exceedence. *As reported in U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Data, Illinois, Water Year

9 Table 5. Reservoir Levels in Illinois For security considerations, statewide tabular reservoir data are not available on the Internet. Specific data requests may be made to Sally McConkey at: 9

10 Ground-Water Information (Ken Hlinka) Comparison to Average Levels Shallow ground-water levels in 4 observation wells remote from pumping centers were above average for December (Table 6) Levels averaged 0 feet above and ranged from 3 9 feet below to 3 9 feet above average for the month Comparison to Previous Month Shallow ground-water levels in December were above those of last month Levels averaged 0 4 feet higher than in November and ranged from feet below to 3 4 feet above November levels Comparison to Same Month, Previous Year Shallow ground-water levels this month were above levels reported in December 999 Levels averaged 3 0 feet higher and ranged from 0 feet below to 7 feet above the levels reported one year ago Table 6. Month-End Shallow Ground-Water Level Data Sites, December 0 Number Well name County Well depth (feet) This month s reading (depth to water, feet) 5-year avg. level (feet) Deviation from Period of record avg. (feet) Previous month (feet) Previous year (feet) Galena JoDaviess Mt. Morris Ogle 55 NA NA NA NA NA 3 Crystal Lake McHenry 8 NA NA NA NA NA 4 Cambridge Henry Fermi Lab DuPage Good Hope McDonough 30 NA NA NA NA NA 7 Snicarte Mason Coffman Pike Greenfield Greene Janesville Cumberland St. Peter Fayette SWS # St. Clair Boyleston Wayne Sparta Randolph SE College Saline Dixon Springs Pope Bondville Champaign Note: NA = data not available