Carlinville, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Carlinville's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 40.0 inches of precipitation and 17 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.9°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 30°C, 1,016 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCarlinville
- Station IDUSC00111280
- Location39.29°N 89.87°W
- Elevation621 ft (189 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population5,582
On October 8, the normal high in Carlinville is 71°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Carlinville.
- Jan 36° 19°
- Feb 41° 23°
- Mar 52° 32°
- Apr 65° 43°
- May 74° 54°
- Jun 83° 63°
- Jul 86° 66°
- Aug 85° 64°
- Sep 79° 55°
- Oct 67° 44°
- Nov 53° 33°
- Dec 41° 25°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Carlinville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in April (4.67 in), the least in February (2.09 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F | 19°F | 27.7°F | 2.28 | 5.8 | 9 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 41°F | 23°F | 32.2°F | 2.09 | 4.7 | 7 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 32°F | 42.1°F | 2.90 | 2.3 | 9 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 43°F | 54.0°F | 4.67 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 74°F | 54°F | 63.8°F | 4.27 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 83°F | 63°F | 72.8°F | 4.64 | 0.0 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 66°F | 76.1°F | 3.44 | 0.0 | 8 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 85°F | 64°F | 74.3°F | 3.24 | 0.0 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 55°F | 67.1°F | 3.32 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 44°F | 55.4°F | 3.31 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 33°F | 43.0°F | 3.53 | 0.9 | 8 | <1 | 13 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 25°F | 32.8°F | 2.32 | 2.8 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 43°F | 53.4°F | 40.01 | 16.5 | 105 | 27 | 110 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −7°C | −2.4°C | 58 mm | 15 cm |
| February | 5°C | −5°C | 0.1°C | 53 mm | 12 cm |
| March | 11°C | 0°C | 5.6°C | 74 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 18°C | 6°C | 12.2°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 23°C | 12°C | 17.7°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.5°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.5°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 13°C | 19.5°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 7°C | 13.0°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 1°C | 6.1°C | 90 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 5°C | −4°C | 0.4°C | 59 mm | 7 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00111280; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Carlinville?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, August, September and October. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (7).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00111280.
When is the last frost in Carlinville?
In Carlinville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 14 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 5 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- April 141 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 5; 9 in 10 before November 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 188 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 212 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 2 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Carlinville in zone 6b in ZIP code 62626, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Carlinville's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (17 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Illinois · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00111280; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Carlinville?
In a normal year in Carlinville, 27 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 110 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 105 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 27a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 110a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 29high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 105a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 113°F, on July 24, 1934; the lowest is −23°F, on February 13, 1905.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1927, with 58.14 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 49.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00111280; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00111280. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Carlinville?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Carlinville, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.9 |
| February | 66% | 2.8 |
| March | 67% | 3.7 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.6 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 83% | 6.4 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 82% | 4.7 |
| October | 74% | 3.3 |
| November | 71% | 2.3 |
| December | 63% | 1.6 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Carlinville need?
A normal year in Carlinville brings 5,320 heating degree days, 1% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,142 cooling degree days, 26% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,725 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,157 | 0 |
| February | 920 | 0 |
| March | 711 | 3 |
| April | 346 | 16 |
| May | 124 | 87 |
| June | 14 | 246 |
| July | 2 | 346 |
| August | 5 | 293 |
| September | 66 | 130 |
| October | 318 | 22 |
| November | 659 | 1 |
| December | 1,000 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,320 | 1,142 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00111280. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
How does Carlinville's climate compare?
Carlinville is warmer than 99 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 72. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.4°F is warmer than 55%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Carlinville is Dfa: continental, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Carlinville share this climate record?
15 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Gillespie, IL3,087 people · 12 mi S
- Benld, IL1,407 people · 14 mi S
- Palmyra, IL592 people · 12 mi NW
- Wilsonville, IL527 people · 15 mi S
- Shipman, IL499 people · 15 mi SW
- Mount Clare, IL306 people · 13 mi S
- Sawyerville, IL262 people · 15 mi S
- East Gillespie, IL260 people · 11 mi S
- White City, IL216 people · 16 mi S
- Royal Lakes, IL170 people · 13 mi S
- Chesterfield, IL165 people · 11 mi W
- Hettick, IL143 people · 10 mi NW
- Standard City, IL129 people · 6 mi NE
- Dorchester, IL125 people · 14 mi S
- Eagarville, IL115 people · 13 mi S
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Carlinville's climate
What is the coldest month in Carlinville?
January, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Carlinville?
Yes: 17 inches in a normal year, falling on 8 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (5.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Carlinville?
April, with 4.67 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.09 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Carlinville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Carlinville in zone 6b in ZIP code 62626, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Carlinville's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −4°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Carlinville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 14; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Virden, IL16 miles from this station, 54.8°F a year
- Hillsboro, IL22 miles from this station, 55.5°F a year
- Morrisonville, IL24 miles from this station, 53.6°F a year
- Jerseyville, IL29 miles from this station, 53.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made