FrostDateCheck

Wheaton, IL 60117 Frost Dates

Frost dates for Wheaton, IL, ZIP 60117

Zone 5b

Around 04/27 is the usual last spring frost, about 242 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/17, about 173 frost-free days later.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wheaton in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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

Zone 5b around Wheaton has about 7 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.

The actual range around Wheaton's last frost

04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/12 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 Wheaton compares

About 173 days separate Wheaton's last and first frost, putting it 27,752 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IL, it ranks 1,284 of 1,548.

Learn more

local microclimates explains what one yard in Wheaton can differ from the 60117 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Wheaton's frost date answer different questions.