January has been an unusually warm month this year and February is expected to be just as mild, according to a prediction by the National Weather Service.

The weather service has predicted above-normal temperatures and precipitation for February. Allen Staver of the NIU meteorology department said, “For northern Illinois, the whole year of 1987 was six to nine inches below normal in precipitation, and in 1988, the precipitation in most places was ten inches below normal. January normally has about two and a half inches of rain, yet we were well below average with only a half inch of precipitation.”

According to a study done by the Illinois Water Survey, droughts that last more than six months usually do not end until February, March or April. Staver said this summer’s drought technically began about 18 months ago. Statistically, February is the driest month of the year.

This area can expect three snows during February, totaling about seven inches, he said. The region also can expect some rainy days, as more than half of the region’s precipitation in February occurs as rain. Staver said recent warm temperatures generally will cause additional rainfall due to the warm air.

More than half of February’s days may have temperatures above freezing. Most mornings, however, are likely to start out below freezing, resulting in possible ice problems for motorists.

“We usually can expect two or three days of below zero readings, but we won’t this year if the NWS outlook proves correct,” he said. He added if the warm weather continues, the area will probably see an early spring. Early warm weather can be a disadvantage for farmers, as crops may begin growing early and later suffer a killing frost.

Staver ended his NIU regional weather summary for February with two cheering notes: Daylight length increases a total of about one hour during the month, and meteorologists classify February as the last month of winter.

According to NIU Weather Service data, the average February temperature for the DeKalb area is 23.9 degrees, with a record high of 68 degrees and a record low of 26 degrees below zero. Normal February precipitation includes 6.2 inches of snow.