Chenoa, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Chenoa's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 36.3 inches of precipitation and 20 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.3°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 29°C, 921 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationChenoa
- Station IDUSC00111475
- Location40.74°N 88.72°W
- Elevation719 ft (219 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population1,699
On October 23, the normal high in Chenoa is 61°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Chenoa.
- Jan 32° 15°
- Feb 37° 19°
- Mar 49° 29°
- Apr 62° 39°
- May 73° 51°
- Jun 82° 60°
- Jul 84° 63°
- Aug 82° 61°
- Sep 77° 53°
- Oct 64° 42°
- Nov 49° 31°
- Dec 37° 21°
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 Chenoa each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.52 in), the least in February (1.59 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 15°F | 23.4°F | 2.17 | 5.3 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 37°F | 19°F | 27.7°F | 1.59 | 4.8 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 29°F | 39.0°F | 2.68 | 2.3 | 8 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 39°F | 50.8°F | 3.57 | 0.8 | 11 | <1 | 6 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 73°F | 51°F | 62.0°F | 4.52 | 0.0 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 60°F | 70.8°F | 3.81 | 0.0 | 9 | 6 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 84°F | 63°F | 73.4°F | 3.74 | 0.0 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 82°F | 61°F | 71.5°F | 3.17 | 0.0 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 53°F | 65.2°F | 3.13 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 42°F | 53.4°F | 3.23 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 31°F | 40.0°F | 2.63 | 1.3 | 8 | <1 | 17 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 21°F | 29.0°F | 2.03 | 5.4 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 40°F | 50.5°F | 36.27 | 19.9 | 96 | 23 | 127 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.8°C | 55 mm | 13 cm |
| February | 3°C | −7°C | −2.4°C | 40 mm | 12 cm |
| March | 10°C | −2°C | 3.9°C | 68 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.4°C | 91 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.7°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 23.0°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 12°C | 18.4°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 18°C | 6°C | 11.9°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 9°C | −1°C | 4.4°C | 67 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.7°C | 52 mm | 14 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00111475; 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 Chenoa?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, September 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 USC00111475.
When is the last frost in Chenoa?
In Chenoa, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before September 29 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 231 year in 10 after May 7; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before October 29
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 174 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 197 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before October 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Chenoa in zone 5b in ZIP code 61726, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Chenoa's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (24 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 USC00111475; 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 Chenoa?
In a normal year in Chenoa, 23 days a year reach 90°F, 127 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 96 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 23a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 127a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 37high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 96a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 7a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1951) is 105°F, on July 7, 2012; the lowest is −26°F, on December 22, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1993, with 49.55 in; the snowiest season is 1977–78, with 50.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00111475; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00111475. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Chenoa?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Chenoa, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.9 |
| February | 67% | 2.7 |
| March | 67% | 3.7 |
| April | 71% | 4.8 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 82% | 6.3 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 81% | 4.6 |
| October | 72% | 3.1 |
| November | 69% | 2.1 |
| December | 62% | 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 Chenoa need?
A normal year in Chenoa brings 6,106 heating degree days, 14% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 862 cooling degree days, 5% fewer 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 3,234 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,288 | 0 |
| February | 1,046 | 0 |
| March | 807 | 1 |
| April | 435 | 8 |
| May | 162 | 69 |
| June | 22 | 196 |
| July | 4 | 266 |
| August | 10 | 211 |
| September | 91 | 97 |
| October | 374 | 14 |
| November | 752 | 0 |
| December | 1,116 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,106 | 862 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00111475. 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.
Has Chenoa been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 54.6°F, 4.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.5°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54.6°F | +4.1°F | – | 13.9 |
Over 48 complete years from 1952 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.3°F per century (+0.13°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00111475; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Chenoa's climate compare?
Chenoa is warmer than 45 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 5. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.5°F is warmer than 43%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Chenoa 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 Chenoa share this climate record?
4 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.
- Fairbury, IL3,571 people · 11 mi E
- Lexington, IL2,097 people · 7 mi SW
- Gridley, IL1,443 people · 9 mi W
- Colfax, IL985 people · 13 mi SE
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 Chenoa's climate
What is the coldest month in Chenoa?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Chenoa?
Yes: 20 inches in a normal year, falling on 11 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (5.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Chenoa?
May, with 4.52 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.59 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Chenoa in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Chenoa in zone 5b in ZIP code 61726, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Chenoa's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −11°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Chenoa?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 7. Waiting until May 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Pontiac, IL11 miles from this station, 51.8°F a year
- Normal, IL18 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Minonk, IL21 miles from this station, 51.3°F a year
- Streator, IL25 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made