CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The statewide average temperature for this winter, including the months of December, January and February, was 34.2 degrees.

That was 5.2 degrees above normal and the fourth warmest winter on record, says Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The warmest winter on record was 1931-1932 at 37.1 degrees. This was followed by a two-way tie for second place with 1997-1998 and 2001-2002, at 34.5 degrees. This winter was a close fourth, at 34.2 degrees.