Thanks to the snow and ice in the eastern portion of central Illinois in early January, the up-and-down temperature pattern was put on pause but anticipates its return this week.

Chris Miller at the National Weather Service in Lincoln indicates this will return us to the weather pattern that kicked off the meteorological winter in November and lasted through most of December.

The La Nina weather pattern of this winter is dominating the weather pattern that has most of the midwest above average for temperatures so far this winter.

Miller is predicting extreme cold that can settle in on the midwest in late January and through early February to stay away for the time being.

Miller points out, the unexpected five-to-nine inches of snow that fell east of Lincoln and west of Champaign, encompassing a very small sphere of central Illinois, held up the up-and-down temperatures the first few weeks of the year. He says the snow and ice resulted in very dense fog and cloud cover across that portion of central Illinois as well. 

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for today, expiring at noon Tuesday. Anticipate one to three inches of snowfall in parts of central Illinois today with a tenth to two-tenths of an inch of sleet and ice. 

Watch for hazardous road conditions throughout the day, especially during the morning and evening commutes.