Sims, IL 62886 Frost Dates
62886, near Sims, IL: the frost window
Around 04/11 is the usual last spring frost, about 226 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/22, roughly 193 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sims in Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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
Sims's growing season runs out in roughly 8 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/11 isn't a guarantee
04/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/30 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/26 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Sims against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 193 frost-free days, Sims places 20,083 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IL, it ranks 413 of 1,548.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 62886: local microclimates, on what one yard in Sims can differ from the 62886 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 6b and Sims's frost date answer different questions.