Metcalf, IL 61940 Frost Dates
Metcalf, IL: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/19, roughly 234 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/19, roughly 181 days after the last spring frost.
Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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 Metcalf, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 7 weeks until Metcalf'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
04/19 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/04 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.
Metcalf against the rest of the dataset
Metcalf's growing season runs about 181 days, ranking 24,736 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IL, it ranks 951 of 1,548.
Learn more
Before leaning on 61940's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Metcalf can differ from the 61940 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Metcalf's frost date answer different questions.