Lake Bluff, IL 60079 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Lake Bluff, IL?
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/19, about 170 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lake Bluff in Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 7 weeks of growing season left in Lake Bluff before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Lake Bluff's last frost
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/15 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Lake Bluff compares
About 170 days separate Lake Bluff's last and first frost, putting it 28,983 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IL, it ranks 1,395 of 1,548.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Lake Bluff's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Lake Bluff's dates instead of trusting one.