New Illinois Winter Forecast from National Weather Service is a Shock

Everything I have been reading about what's coming to Northern Illinois and Wisconsin this winter says it's going to be brutal.

From the Farmers Almanac predicting the Midwest will be a "winter wonderland" with cold and snowy conditions in the upcoming months, to reports of El Nino possibly bringing historically cold temperatures nationwide with above-average snow, sleet, and ice.

Read More: The 2023-24 Winter in Rockford Will be Historically Snowy & Cold

Now there's a new winter forecast for Illinois from the National Weather Service that was surprising.

Will Illinois Weather Be Brutally Cold This Winter?

According to a three-month outlook from the N.W.S. for this upcoming December, January, and February, the temperatures are "leaning above normal."

To get an idea of what that may mean for Winter temperatures in Rockford, the average high is 40 degrees in December, 30 in January, and 29 degrees in February, according to Weatherspark.

Will the Illinois Be a Winter Wonderland of Snow?

All the forecasts up until this point have been leaning toward a "snowpocalypse" type of winter in Illinois if you believe the Old Farmers Almanac predictions.

If you look at what the National Weather Service is forecasting for December-January-February, precipitation in all of Northern Illinois and Wisconsin will be leaning 33 to 40 percent below normal for those months.

So if Rockford averages 7 inches of snow in December, 9.5 inches in January, and just over 12 inches in February, it won't be more than that if the National Weather Service predictions hold true.