Tuscola, IL 61953 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Tuscola, IL?
Around 04/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 230 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/20, about 188 frost-free days later.
Tuscola sits in USDA Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Tuscola before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/15 isn't a guarantee
04/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/03 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Tuscola compares
At roughly 188 frost-free days, Tuscola places 22,013 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 677 of 1,548.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Tuscola can differ from the 61953 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Tuscola's frost date answer different questions.