Cuba, IL 61433 Frost Dates
61433, near Cuba, IL: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/17, about 232 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/19, roughly 185 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cuba in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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
Cuba'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 04/17 isn't a guarantee
04/17 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/02 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/03 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Cuba against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 185 frost-free days, Cuba places 23,235 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 833 of 1,548.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 61433: local microclimates, on what one yard in Cuba can differ from the 61433 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5b and Cuba's frost date answer different questions.