Gardner, IL 60424 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Gardner, IL, ZIP 60424
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/27, about 242 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/15, about 170 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gardner 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 Gardner 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 Gardner's last frost
04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/14 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 Gardner compares
About 170 days separate Gardner's last and first frost, putting it 29,090 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IL, it ranks 1,400 of 1,548.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Gardner can differ from the 60424 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Gardner's frost date answer different questions.