CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) – 2021 was an active year of weather in Central Illinois, from tornadoes to ice storms, and from earthquakes to floods. We experienced just about all the extremes here. Here’s a look back at some of the stories of the most notable weather events in 2021.
OUR TOP 5:
5. January Winter Blitz (New Year’s Day Ice Storm + Monticello Heavy Snow)
4. Year of Tornadoes
3. Mid February Arctic Blast
2. Summer of Rain and Flooding
1. December Tornado Outbreak
MOST NOTABLE CHANGE: This year was noticeably a return to an active severe weather pattern, one that hadn’t been seen in a decade locally. We saw 4 times more tornado warnings in our viewing area this year compared to 2020, the most since 2011.
When looking at combined severe and tornado warnings, this past year was also the most active since 2011. But interestingly enough, the ratio of tornado warnings to all warnings was higher this year. Storms just had a tendency to spin more locally. In a normal year, 16% of all warnings are tornado warnings. 2021 was up to 28%. That means 1 in every 4 warnings issued in our viewing area was a tornado warning, as opposed to a severe thunderstorm warning.
We ended up with 32 tornadoes confirmed this past year, including 5 significant EF2 tornadoes that hit on December 10th.
Rainfall Statistics
LOCATION
Urbana
Decatur
Springfield
Danville
Mattoon-Charleston
Bloomington
Effingham
Taylorville
MEASURED IN 2021
44.62″
42.29″
46.97″
50.28″
52.61″
46.38″
48.44″
48.26″
AVG YEARLY RAIN (CHANGE)
40.92″ (+3.70″)
36.36″ (+5.93″)
38.04″ (+8.93″)
43.21″ (+7.07″)
41.20″ (+11.41″)
39.39″ (+6.99″)
44.91″ (+3.53″)
41.76″ (6.50″)
Temperature Statistics
LOCATION
Urbana
Decatur
Springfield
AVG TEMP (RANK)
53.5° (18th/133)
54.0° (85th/128)
54.6° (22nd/121)
HIGH/LOW TEMPS (DATE)
95° (6/12), -8° (2/17)
95° (6/12, 6/18), -6° (2/17)
99° (6/18), -8° (2/16)
Stories from the Past Year:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December