Itasca, IL 60143 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Itasca, IL?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/16, about 231 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/28, about 193 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 Itasca, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Itasca before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/16 isn't a guarantee
04/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/03 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Itasca compares
At roughly 193 frost-free days, Itasca places 19,783 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 390 of 1,548.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Itasca's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Itasca can differ from the 60143 normal.