Arlington Heights, IL 60004 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Arlington Heights, IL, ZIP 60004
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/19, roughly 234 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/26, about 190 frost-free days later.
Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Arlington Heights, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6a around Arlington Heights has about 8 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/19 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/04 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/03 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Arlington Heights compares
About 190 days separate Arlington Heights's last and first frost, putting it 20,997 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IL, it ranks 487 of 1,548.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Arlington Heights can differ from the 60004 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Arlington Heights's frost date answer different questions.