LINCOLN - It has been - and continues to be - a wet winter, as the snow Monday night and Tuesday showed. | Report a cancellation | Photo Gallery

The National Weather Service also released statistics Tuesday to back up that assessment.

From Dec. 1, 2007, to noon Feb. 26, Lincoln has had the second wettest winter on record since records began in 1905.

Lincoln has received 13.85 inches of precipitation. The record was 15.57 inches in 1949-50.

Average precipitation is 5.88 inches for that period.

Bloomington-Normal recorded 11.39 inches for the period, giving it for the second wettest winter since records started being kept in 1893. The record was 15.6 inches in 1949-50, and typical precipitation is 5.85 inches.

Not surprisingly, there are flood warnings along the Illinois River at Peoria, Havana and Beardstown, the weather service said Tuesday night.

It also cautions drivers not to drive through standing water on any road anywhere.

Meanwhile, the snowstorm which blew through Central Illinois late Monday and Tuesday coated tree limbs and power lines, but police reported no major accidents despite slippery roads. Snowfall in Central Illinois ranged from 1 to 3 inches, said meteorologist Chuck Schaffer of the weather service's Lincoln office.

The forecast for today is partly sunny with a high in the mid 20s, but the wind chill will make it seem to be around 10 degrees. This evening will be party cloudy, with a low around 14 degrees and a wind chill factor as low as zero.

"It'll be a nice break - no snow," said Schaffer. "It'll look pretty from the inside."

By Tuesday morning, 2 to 4 inches were on the ground, which was less than the 3 to 5 inches that had been forecast as part of a winter storm warning.

But Forrest-based Prairie Central, DeLand-Weldon and Paxton-Buckley-Loda schools still canceled after-school activities or dismissed early after winds in the afternoon threatened to blow snow.

Central Illinois Regional Airport, Bloomington, canceled a handful of flights, including several connecting in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, which as usual was backed up due to the weather.

Hundreds of Ameren customers in the Fairbury area had sporadic power outages through much of Tuesday due to the heavy winds.

On the Web:

www.cityblm.org/snow