The past January was the warmest ever recorded in Champaign-Urbana, said State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. In fact, Angel said, the warm spell was cast not just over Central Illinois, but throughout the entire Midwest – in Illinois it was the second warmest January on record since 1895.

Temperatures statewide averaged 37.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 12.7 degrees above normal, and only 0.1 degree behind the all-time record set in 1933.

“What’s unusual about it is that we went the whole month without any day being close to normal,” Angel said.

He explained it is atypical for the atmosphere to be able to maintain an unusual temperature pattern during a long period of time before being replaced with another. As such, the past couple days have seen temperatures returning to normal for early February.

Angel stated that instead of receiving cold air from Canada this winter, which normally occurs, much of it spilled into the Artic regions and Russia, which experienced an abnormally frigid January.

“Russia’s winter has been just about as cold as ours has been warm,” he said.

Angel explained that this might be due to an environmental phenomenon called “La Nina.” “La Nina” refers to unusually cold waters in the East Pacific near the Equator, affecting wind patterns and seeping warm southern air into the United States from the West Coast to the East. In turn, the cold air jet stream from Canada stays to the north, resulting in mild conditions.

The abnormal warm weather, Angel said, may have had a number of effects on the state’s agriculture, and even the economy.

Winter wheat crops that should stay dormant during winter might begin to grow prematurely. Come February and March, if temperatures return to normal, the budding crops could perish.

Additionally, entomologist Joe Spencer, for the Illinois Natural History Survey said insects such as the western corn rootworm, one of the main pests to corn and soybean crops, spend winter as eggs under the soil. Under normal winter conditions, freezing weather destroys many eggs – a pattern of pest control crucial to crop production. However, as the warm spell has passed, Spencer doubts that it will have any substantial effect.

“We had a warm January, but we still have a lot of winter to go,” he said.

Steve Parente, associate professor of economics, said a warm January might have had positive effects on the economy.

“Lower fuel expenditure in households allocate less out of peoples’ budgets, and for businesses too,” he said. Also, he added, communities and cities where roads are not being destroyed by freezing weather would not have had to spend as much on repair and maintenance.

Airports as well benefited from a warm January.

“Usually we have a lot of snow, which leads to an abundance of delays and cancelled flights,” said Ted Gonsiorowski, assistant airport manager of the University’s Willard Airport. “But there were certainly less delays and less flight cancellations due to mild weather.”

But the groundhog saw its shadow and burrowed back into the ground, Angel said.

“There’s a potential of about six more weeks of winter weather until March, when winter will probably let go of Central Illinois,” he said. “But there’s a tendency when you have a warm January that you have warmer and drier summers.”