Recent Snowfall Provides Little Dryness Relief

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Published on January 19 2018 1:26 pm
Last Updated on January 19 2018 1:27 pm

BY DAN GRANT, FARM WEEK NOW

Winter made its presence felt with an unseasonably cold and snowy start to January.

But the snowfall did little to alleviate abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions in the southern half of the state.

Snowfall the first half of January totaled 3 to 6 inches in much of northern and eastern Illinois, with a high of 7.4 inches in Downers Grove and Elgin, while many parts of western Illinois received less than 2 inches.

Snowfall so far for the winter season ranged from 5 to 10 inches in the northern half of the state and 1 to 5 inches in the southern half, according to Jim Angel, state climatologist with the Illinois State Water Survey.

“So far, our snow has come from fast-moving, low-pressure systems out of Canada (Alberta clippers) that are noted for bringing light, fluffy snow without much water content,” Angel said.

It’s common for 10 inches of snowfall in Illinois to equal 1 inch of water. But this season’s snowfall so far provided just a fraction of that moisture.

Angel noted a recent snowfall in Champaign totaled 3.3 inches, but provided just 0.14 of an inch of water, good for just a 24:1 snow/moisture ratio.