Buffalo, IL 62515 Frost Dates
Buffalo, IL: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/14, roughly 229 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/20, roughly 187 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Buffalo 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 Buffalo'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
04/14 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/01 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/29 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Buffalo against the rest of the dataset
Buffalo's growing season runs about 187 days, ranking 22,572 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IL, it ranks 794 of 1,548.
Learn more
Before leaning on 62515's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Buffalo can differ from the 62515 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Buffalo's frost date answer different questions.