Lena, IL 61027 Frost Dates
61027, near Lena, IL: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/26, about 241 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/13, roughly 169 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lena in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Lena's growing season runs out in roughly 7 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/26 isn't a guarantee
04/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/11 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/11 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Lena against the rest of the dataset
About 169 days separate Lena's last and first frost, putting it 29,456 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IL, it ranks 1,425 of 1,548.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 61027: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5a and Lena's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Lena's dates instead of trusting one.