Wheaton, IL 60199 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Wheaton, IL?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/27, about 242 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/17, about 173 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Wheaton, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 7 weeks of growing season left in Wheaton before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
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
Wheaton's growing season runs about 173 days, ranking 27,760 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IL, it ranks 1,292 of 1,548.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Wheaton can differ from the 60199 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Wheaton's frost date answer different questions.