Ellsworth, IL 61737 Frost Dates
Ellsworth, IL: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/25, about 240 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/16, roughly 172 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ellsworth in Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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
With roughly 7 weeks until Ellsworth's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/25 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.
Ellsworth against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 172 frost-free days, Ellsworth places 28,524 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 1,360 of 1,548.
Learn more
Before leaning on 61737's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Ellsworth's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Ellsworth can differ from the 61737 normal.