Evanston, IL 60201 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Evanston, IL, ZIP 60201
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/26, roughly 241 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/21, about 176 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 Evanston, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6a around Evanston 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.
The actual range around Evanston's last frost
04/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/11 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Evanston compares
Evanston's growing season runs about 176 days, ranking 26,340 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IL, it ranks 1,144 of 1,548.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Evanston can differ from the 60201 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Evanston's frost date answer different questions.