Cerro Gordo, IL 61855 Frost Dates
Cerro Gordo, IL: when does the frost end?
Around 04/16 is the usual last spring frost, about 231 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/22, roughly 187 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cerro Gordo 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 8 weeks until Cerro Gordo's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/16 isn't a guarantee
04/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/03 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/30 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Cerro Gordo against the rest of the dataset
Cerro Gordo's growing season runs about 187 days, ranking 22,485 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IL, it ranks 764 of 1,548.
Learn more
Before leaning on 61855's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Cerro Gordo can differ from the 61855 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Cerro Gordo's frost date answer different questions.