By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – Spring has officially arrived and the National Weather Service in Lincoln reports snowfall totals for winter were far below normal.

NWS said most areas saw snow totals around 10 inches. Some areas of Southern Illinois saw less than 5 inches. The average annual snowfall is closer to 20 inches.

Meteorologist Chris Miller explained the low snow fall was due mainly to a lot of warm air built up the southern part of the country.

“Every time we had a front approach us, and our winds turned around coming from the south, it would bring that warm air up into our area so that when storms came across they didn’t have a lot of cold air to deal with,” said Miller. “So as a result a lot of precipitation we had throughout the winter was in the form of rain.”

Miller added it is still possible the area sees more snow before summer.

“We usually see that in parts of Central Illinois. Even late in March or into the first few weeks of April we’ve had events with pretty significant snowfall amounts,” he said.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].