Hamel, IL 62046 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Hamel, IL?
Around 04/04 is the usual last spring frost, about 219 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/05, about 214 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 Hamel, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 10 weeks of growing season left in Hamel before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/04 isn't a guarantee
04/04 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/18 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Hamel compares
At roughly 214 frost-free days, Hamel places 14,322 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 25 of 1,548.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Hamel's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Hamel can differ from the 62046 normal.