Summit, IL 60501 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Summit, IL?
Around 04/11 is the usual last spring frost, about 226 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/31, about 201 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 Summit, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Summit before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/11 isn't a guarantee
04/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/27 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Summit compares
At roughly 201 frost-free days, Summit places 17,472 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 247 of 1,548.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Summit can differ from the 60501 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Summit's frost date answer different questions.