Leaf River, IL 61047 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Leaf River, IL?
Around 04/26 is the usual last spring frost, about 241 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/13, about 169 frost-free days later.
Leaf River sits in USDA Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 7 weeks of growing season left in Leaf River before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/26 isn't a guarantee
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 Leaf River compares
At roughly 169 frost-free days, Leaf River places 29,572 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 1,436 of 1,548.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Leaf River's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Leaf River can differ from the 61047 normal.