A look into an average Illinois forecast. Photo by Maximum Weather Instruments.
If you have been outside at any point this year, you have probably experienced it too. It seems like Mother Nature is having a hard time deciding what to choose with how odd this weather is! One moment, there will be a whole snowstorm, then the very next day it feels like summer.
I had grown up in Indiana for most of my life, which has almost identical weather to Illinois. Since the weather is so similar, I am used to the weather being out of control, especially during the spring season. However, this feels completely different. It is almost as if someone has decided to make Illinois’s weird weather way worse than normal.
Winter has always been my personal favorite season, so seeing the snowy days pass so quickly really hurts. I can definitely understand why most people dread the colder seasons, but these seasons are a natural part of life. For people whose favorite seasons are the warmer ones, this is probably a dream come true. However, with the greater knowledge of what is happening to the world, it is more comparable to a nightmare.
With some thinking, one may realize this absurd weather is likely to be caused by the rapid climate change. Looking at a few years ago to 2021 when Texas had that snow storm that caused millions of people to experience power outages, it would be quite apparent that this weather is not normal, and midwestern people are not the only ones experiencing it.
-Cecil Howell
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Having lived in Illinois my whole life I have seen my fair share of strange and weird weather, from tornados in Dec. and snow in May. This winter into spring transformation this year was a real treat for us living here. Getting up to 60°F days in Jan. and snow in March, was not normal to the weather in Illinois for this time of the year. Yes there is to be expected to see a second winter, or three very warm fronts, but not as early as January.
The state experienced several storm events, including rain, snow, and a mix of both. Early in the month, rain showers were prevalent across much of the state, contributing to seasonal rainfall totals and providing moisture for farming. As temperatures cooled later in the month, snowfall became more common, especially in northern and central Illinois.
The weather here is not normal at all, it is a mixture of both strange weather activities and the effects of global warming and stronger greenhouse effects. Originally the earth did a lot of self-inflicted climate change, humans simply came along and sped up the process.
Many residents experienced a transition from mild early winter conditions to colder, more wintry weather as the month progressed. Despite the variability, Illinois citizens adapted to the changing weather conditions, demonstrating resilience in the face of nature’s unpredictability.
-Mae Russell
