Beecher, IL 60401 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Beecher, IL?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/23, roughly 238 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/20, about 179 frost-free days later.
Beecher sits in USDA Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Beecher before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/23 isn't a guarantee
04/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/09 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 Beecher compares
At roughly 179 frost-free days, Beecher places 25,292 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 1,029 of 1,548.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Beecher's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Beecher's dates instead of trusting one.