Elizabeth, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elizabeth's normal year runs from 10°F January nights to 83°F July afternoons, with 39.4 inches of precipitation and 30 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.6°C, January lows of −12°C, July highs of 29°C, 999 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElizabeth
- Station IDUSC00112745
- Location42.32°N 90.23°W
- Elevation675 ft (206 m)
- Population688
On October 23, the normal high in Elizabeth is 59°F and the normal low 37°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 Elizabeth.
- Jan 28° 10°
- Feb 33° 14°
- Mar 46° 25°
- Apr 59° 36°
- May 70° 47°
- Jun 80° 58°
- Jul 83° 61°
- Aug 81° 59°
- Sep 75° 50°
- Oct 62° 39°
- Nov 47° 28°
- Dec 34° 17°
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 Elizabeth each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 83°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 10°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.82 in), the least in January (1.43 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F | 10°F | 19.2°F | 1.43 | 8.4 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 20 min |
| February | 33°F | 14°F | 23.5°F | 1.74 | 8.1 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 46°F | 25°F | 35.5°F | 2.33 | 3.5 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 36°F | 47.3°F | 3.85 | 1.1 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 47°F | 58.6°F | 4.29 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 58°F | 68.8°F | 5.82 | 0.0 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| July | 83°F | 61°F | 72.2°F | 4.65 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 81°F | 59°F | 70.1°F | 4.02 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 14 h |
| September | 75°F | 50°F | 62.3°F | 3.85 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 39°F | 50.5°F | 3.04 | 0.3 | 9 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 47°F | 28°F | 37.2°F | 2.44 | 1.9 | 8 | <1 | 22 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 34°F | 17°F | 25.3°F | 1.89 | 6.9 | 9 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 37°F | 47.5°F | 39.35 | 30.2 | 114 | 11 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −12°C | −7.1°C | 36 mm | 21 cm |
| February | 0°C | −10°C | −4.7°C | 44 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 8°C | −4°C | 1.9°C | 59 mm | 9 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.5°C | 98 mm | 3 cm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 27°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 148 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.3°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 27°C | 15°C | 21.2°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 16.8°C | 98 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.3°C | 77 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 2.9°C | 62 mm | 5 cm |
| December | 1°C | −8°C | −3.7°C | 48 mm | 18 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00112745; 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 Elizabeth?
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 (9).
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 USC00112745.
When is the last frost in Elizabeth?
In Elizabeth, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 17 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 9 in half of years and before September 25 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
- May 11 year in 10 after May 17; 9 in 10 after April 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 91 year in 10 before September 25; 9 in 10 before October 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 160 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 183 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 20 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elizabeth in zone 5a in ZIP code 61028, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Elizabeth's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (20 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 USC00112745; 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 Elizabeth?
In a normal year in Elizabeth, 11 days a year reach 90°F, 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 114 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 11a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 53high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 114a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 10a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1984) is 103°F, on July 7, 2012; the lowest is −35°F, on January 31, 2019.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2018, with 59.56 in; the snowiest season is 1993–94, with 53.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00112745; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00112745. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Elizabeth?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elizabeth, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (80%) and December the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 1.8 |
| February | 71% | 2.8 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 69% | 4.7 |
| May | 71% | 5.6 |
| June | 75% | 6.1 |
| July | 80% | 6.3 |
| August | 79% | 5.4 |
| September | 79% | 4.4 |
| October | 70% | 2.9 |
| November | 68% | 2.0 |
| December | 61% | 1.4 |
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 Elizabeth need?
A normal year in Elizabeth brings 7,003 heating degree days, 30% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 677 cooling degree days, 25% 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 2,781 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,420 | 0 |
| February | 1,161 | 0 |
| March | 917 | 1 |
| April | 534 | 3 |
| May | 239 | 42 |
| June | 39 | 151 |
| July | 7 | 232 |
| August | 18 | 176 |
| September | 146 | 64 |
| October | 457 | 8 |
| November | 834 | 0 |
| December | 1,232 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,003 | 677 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00112745. 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 Elizabeth been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.7°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.5°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.9°F | +1.4°F | 26.83 | 29.2 |
| 2022 | 46.4°F | −1.1°F | 39.92 | 29.6 |
| 2023 | 49.6°F | +2.1°F | 34.90 | 43.4 |
| 2024 | 50.8°F | +3.3°F | 40.57 | 25.6 |
| 2025 | 48.7°F | +1.2°F | 36.40 | 31.9 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00112745. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Elizabeth's climate compare?
Elizabeth is warmer than 1 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 58. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.5°F is warmer than 30%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elizabeth 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.
Questions about Elizabeth's climate
What is the coldest month in Elizabeth?
January, with a normal high of 28°F and a normal low of 10°F. The warmest is July (83°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Elizabeth?
Yes: 30 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (8.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Elizabeth?
June, with 5.82 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.43 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elizabeth in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elizabeth in zone 5a in ZIP code 61028, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Elizabeth's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Elizabeth?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 17. Waiting until May 17 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Galena, IL10 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Bellevue, IA11 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Stockton, IL14 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Mount Carroll, IL19 miles from this station, 48.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made