Illinois Frost Dates

Average last spring and first fall frost for Illinois cities, based on 1991–2020 climate normals. Click a city for its full planting guide.

City	Last spring frost	First fall frost	Season	Zone
Chicago	Apr 10	Nov 5	209 days	6a
Springfield	Apr 15	Oct 22	190 days	6a
Rockford	Apr 24	Oct 17	176 days	5b

All Illinois station records (167)

Every NOAA weather station in Illinois with complete 1991–2020 frost normals — pick the one nearest you (similar elevation matters more than plain distance).

Albion Apr 4 · Oct 28
Aledo Apr 22 · Oct 19
Alton - Melvin Price L&d Apr 4 · Nov 5
Altona Apr 28 · Oct 12
Anna 2 NNE Apr 8 · Oct 29
Antioch Apr 23 · Oct 21
Athens 4SW Apr 19 · Oct 19
Aurora Apr 19 · Oct 23
Avon Apr 22 · Oct 19
Barrington 3SW Apr 25 · Oct 19
Belleville Siu Rsch Apr 12 · Oct 20
Bentley Apr 13 · Oct 22
Benton 2 N Apr 4 · Oct 28
Bloomington 5W Apr 21 · Oct 20
Brookport Dam 52 Apr 6 · Oct 27
Brownstown 4 SW Apr 3 · Oct 24
Cahokia Apr 6 · Oct 27
Cahokia St Louis Airport Apr 8 · Oct 26
Cairo 3N Apr 2 · Oct 31
Carbondale Sewage Plt Apr 9 · Oct 22
Carbondale Southern Il Airport Apr 9 · Oct 22
Carlinville Apr 14 · Oct 21
Carlyle Rsvr Apr 6 · Oct 29
Carmi 3 Apr 15 · Oct 19
Casey Apr 14 · Oct 20
Champaign 3S Apr 15 · Oct 24
Champaign 9 SW Apr 23 · Oct 13
Champaign Willard Airport Apr 19 · Oct 17
Channahon Dresden Isl Dam Apr 16 · Oct 26
Charleston Apr 15 · Oct 23
Chenoa Apr 23 · Oct 15
Chicago Aurora Municipal Airport Apr 28 · Oct 13
Chicago Botanic Garden Apr 26 · Oct 21
Chicago Midway Airport Apr 11 · Oct 31
Chicago Midway Airport 3SW Apr 10 · Nov 1
Chicago Ohare International Airport Apr 16 · Oct 28
Chicago Palwaukee Airport Apr 19 · Oct 26
Chicago Waukegan Regional Airport Apr 30 · Oct 21
Compton 1 NW Apr 27 · Oct 12
Congerville 2NW Apr 21 · Oct 17
Crystal Lake 4NW Apr 25 · Oct 22
Danville Apr 21 · Oct 20
De Kalb Apr 24 · Oct 18
Decatur Airport Apr 16 · Oct 22
Decatur Wtp Apr 14 · Oct 24
Dixon 1W Apr 21 · Oct 19
Dixon Springs Agric Ctr Apr 14 · Oct 21
Du Quoin 4 SE Apr 6 · Oct 22
Dwight Apr 27 · Oct 15
Effingham 3SW Apr 13 · Oct 24
Elgin Apr 26 · Oct 18
Elizabeth May 1 · Oct 9
Fairfield Radio Wfiw Apr 7 · Oct 26
Flora Apr 9 · Oct 24
Flora 5 NW Apr 10 · Oct 23
Freeport Waste Wtp Apr 26 · Oct 13
Fulton L&d #13 Apr 13 · Oct 26
Galena Apr 26 · Oct 15
Galesburg Apr 20 · Oct 19
Galva Apr 26 · Oct 12
Geneseo Apr 20 · Oct 20
Gibson City Apr 21 · Oct 17
Gladstone Dam 18 Apr 8 · Oct 29
Golden Apr 18 · Oct 21
Grand Chain Dam 53 Apr 3 · Nov 5
Grayville Apr 7 · Oct 25
Harrisburg Apr 7 · Oct 26
Havana Apr 17 · Oct 19
Hennepin Apr 18 · Oct 22
Hennepin Wtr Trmt Plt Apr 24 · Oct 17
Hillsboro Apr 13 · Oct 24
Hoopeston Apr 22 · Oct 19
Illinois City Dam 16 Apr 18 · Oct 24
Iuka 12 SW Apr 9 · Oct 24
Jacksonville 2 Apr 17 · Oct 21
Jacksonville 2E Apr 19 · Oct 17
Jerseyville 2 SW Apr 14 · Oct 19
Joliet Brandon Rd Dam Apr 19 · Oct 25
Kankakee Metro Wastewater Apr 19 · Oct 24
Kaskaskia River Navigation Lock Apr 8 · Oct 30
Kewanee 1 E Apr 24 · Oct 17
Knoxville Apr 21 · Oct 20
La Harpe Apr 21 · Oct 19
Lacon Apr 20 · Oct 17
Lake Villa 2NE Apr 24 · Oct 23
Lawrenceville 2WSW Apr 12 · Oct 25
Lawrenceville International Airport Apr 8 · Oct 26
Lincoln Apr 20 · Oct 16
Lisle-Morton Arboretum Apr 28 · Oct 16
Little Red School Hse Apr 19 · Oct 22
Marengo Apr 28 · Oct 12
Marseilles Lock Apr 27 · Oct 17
Mason City 4SE Apr 17 · Oct 18
Mattoon Apr 11 · Oct 29
Mattoon Coles Co Airport Apr 15 · Oct 24
Mc Henry -Wg Stratton L&d May 1 · Oct 11
Mcleansboro Apr 11 · Oct 21
Minonk Apr 26 · Oct 17
Moline Quad City International Airport Apr 24 · Oct 18
Monmouth Apr 22 · Oct 15
Monmouth 4NW Apr 22 · Oct 14
Morris 1 NW Apr 20 · Oct 23
Morrison Apr 26 · Oct 13
Morrisonville Apr 12 · Oct 20
Mt Carmel Apr 2 · Oct 31
Mt Carroll May 2 · Oct 7
Mt Vernon 3 NE Apr 11 · Oct 22
Mundelein 4 WSW Apr 29 · Oct 20
Nashville 1 E Apr 7 · Oct 26
Neoga 4NW Apr 16 · Oct 20
NEW Boston Dam 17 Apr 14 · Oct 24
Newton Apr 13 · Oct 22
Newton 6 SSE Apr 13 · Oct 22
Normal 4NE Apr 25 · Oct 16
Ogden Apr 20 · Oct 21
Olney 2S Apr 15 · Oct 23
Ottawa 5SW Apr 20 · Oct 22
Palestine Apr 12 · Oct 22
Pana Apr 17 · Oct 23
Paris Stp Apr 21 · Oct 20
Park Forest Apr 23 · Oct 20
Paw Paw 2S Apr 27 · Oct 15
Paxton 2 WSW Apr 23 · Oct 12
Peoria Gtr Peoria Airport Apr 16 · Oct 23
Perry 6 NW Apr 18 · Oct 15
Peru Apr 24 · Oct 18
Petersburg 1E Apr 13 · Oct 21
Piper City Apr 25 · Oct 20
Pittsfield #2 Apr 14 · Oct 21
Polo 5NW Apr 29 · Oct 7
Pontiac Apr 16 · Oct 24
Prairie City 2S Apr 17 · Oct 22
Princeton Apr 22 · Oct 17
Princeville Apr 22 · Oct 14
Quincy Dam 21 Apr 8 · Oct 30
Quincy Regional Airport Apr 14 · Oct 23
Ramsey Apr 15 · Oct 19
Rantoul Apr 21 · Oct 18
Rend Lake Dam Apr 4 · Oct 27
Robinson Apr 13 · Oct 22
Rochelle Apr 26 · Oct 13
Rock Island L&d 15 Apr 19 · Oct 22
Romeoville Wfo Apr 20 · Oct 22
Rosiclare 5NW Apr 19 · Oct 20
Rushville Apr 16 · Oct 23
Salem Apr 9 · Oct 26
Shabbona 5 NNE Apr 28 · Oct 10
Shelbyville Dam Apr 10 · Oct 24
Sidell 4N Apr 19 · Oct 19
Smithland L&d Apr 3 · Oct 30
Sparta 1 W Apr 12 · Oct 22
Springfield Capital Airport Apr 14 · Oct 20
Stockton 3 NNE Apr 27 · Oct 9
Streamwood Apr 30 · Oct 13
Streator 3 SE Apr 12 · Oct 28
Sullivan 3S Apr 15 · Oct 22
Tuscola Apr 15 · Oct 20
Vandalia Apr 10 · Oct 24
Virden Apr 7 · Oct 29
Walnut Apr 24 · Oct 14
Watseka 2 NW Apr 24 · Oct 16
Waukegan Apr 30 · Oct 19
West Chicago Dupage Airport Apr 25 · Oct 19
Wheaton 3 SE Apr 27 · Oct 17
White Hall 1 E Apr 13 · Oct 22
Winchester Apr 18 · Oct 20
Windsor Apr 16 · Oct 22

Not sure which station to trust? Use the ZIP code lookup for the quick answer, or pick the station whose terrain most resembles your garden.

Planning a Illinois garden around these dates

Count back from the last spring frost to schedule indoor seed starting (the seed starting scheduler automates it), plant hardy crops in the weeks before the date, and hold tender crops — tomatoes, peppers, squash, basil — until after it. In fall, the first frost date is the deadline: crops must mature before it, which is what our planting calendar counts backwards for you. Crop-by-crop timing for every USDA zone lives under when to plant.