Loves Park, IL 61114 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Loves Park, IL, ZIP 61114
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/24, roughly 239 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/17, about 174 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Loves Park, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Loves Park 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/24 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/10 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Loves Park compares
Loves Park's growing season runs about 174 days, ranking 27,353 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IL, it ranks 1,227 of 1,548.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Loves Park's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Loves Park can differ from the 61114 normal.