Elsah, IL 62028 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Elsah, IL?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/05, roughly 220 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/27, about 203 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 Elsah, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Elsah before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Elsah's last frost
04/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/22 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/21 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Elsah compares
About 203 days separate Elsah's last and first frost, putting it 17,018 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IL, it ranks 172 of 1,548.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Elsah can differ from the 62028 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6b and Elsah's frost date answer different questions.