Galva, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Galva's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 38.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 9.7°C, January lows of −11°C, July highs of 29°C, 982 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGalva
- Station IDUSC00113335
- Location41.17°N 90.03°W
- Elevation810 ft (247 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population2,396
On October 23, the normal high in Galva is 60°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Galva.
- Jan 30° 13°
- Feb 35° 17°
- Mar 48° 27°
- Apr 61° 38°
- May 73° 50°
- Jun 82° 60°
- Jul 84° 63°
- Aug 82° 60°
- Sep 77° 52°
- Oct 64° 40°
- Nov 48° 29°
- Dec 36° 19°
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 Galva each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.17 in), the least in January (1.62 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30°F | 13°F | 21.5°F | 1.62 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 35°F | 17°F | 26.0°F | 1.76 | 5 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 48°F | 27°F | 37.7°F | 2.35 | 8 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 38°F | 49.6°F | 4.22 | 10 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 73°F | 50°F | 61.4°F | 4.82 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 60°F | 70.6°F | 5.17 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 84°F | 63°F | 73.5°F | 3.63 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 82°F | 60°F | 71.2°F | 3.73 | 8 | 4 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 77°F | 52°F | 64.0°F | 3.97 | 7 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 64°F | 40°F | 52.1°F | 2.84 | 8 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 48°F | 29°F | 38.6°F | 2.55 | 7 | <1 | 19 | 10 h |
| December | 36°F | 19°F | 27.3°F | 2.01 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 39°F | 49.5°F | 38.67 | 92 | 16 | 137 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°C | −11°C | −5.8°C | 41 mm |
| February | 2°C | −8°C | −3.3°C | 45 mm |
| March | 9°C | −3°C | 3.2°C | 60 mm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.8°C | 107 mm |
| May | 23°C | 10°C | 16.3°C | 122 mm |
| June | 28°C | 15°C | 21.4°C | 131 mm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 23.1°C | 92 mm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 95 mm |
| September | 25°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 101 mm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 72 mm |
| November | 9°C | −2°C | 3.7°C | 65 mm |
| December | 2°C | −7°C | −2.6°C | 51 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Kewanee (8 miles away), gets 31 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00113335; 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 Galva?
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 USC00113335.
When is the last frost in Galva?
In Galva, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 26 in half of years and after May 11 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 12 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
- April 261 year in 10 after May 11; 9 in 10 after April 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 121 year in 10 before September 25; 9 in 10 before October 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 166 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 189 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 16 in half of springs and before October 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Galva in zone 5b in ZIP code 61434, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Galva's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (25 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 USC00113335; 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 Galva?
In a normal year in Galva, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 137 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 92 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 137a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 47high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 92a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1887) is 111°F, on July 14, 1936; the lowest is −32°F, on January 31, 2019.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 55.77 in; the snowiest season is 1978–79, with 69.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00113335; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00113335. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Galva?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Galva, 4.0 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and December the cloudiest (63%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.8 |
| February | 70% | 2.8 |
| March | 69% | 3.7 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 72% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.2 |
| July | 81% | 6.3 |
| August | 80% | 5.5 |
| September | 81% | 4.5 |
| October | 72% | 3.0 |
| November | 69% | 2.1 |
| December | 63% | 1.5 |
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 Galva need?
A normal year in Galva brings 6,470 heating degree days, 20% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 839 cooling degree days, 8% 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 3,123 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,350 | 0 |
| February | 1,093 | 0 |
| March | 848 | 2 |
| April | 469 | 7 |
| May | 177 | 66 |
| June | 23 | 193 |
| July | 5 | 269 |
| August | 13 | 207 |
| September | 115 | 85 |
| October | 413 | 12 |
| November | 792 | 0 |
| December | 1,170 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,470 | 839 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00113335. 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 Galva been warmer than normal lately?
Over 103 complete years from 1894 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.1°F per century (+0.12°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Galva's climate compare?
Galva is warmer than 27 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 47. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 49.5°F is warmer than 38%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Galva 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 Galva share this climate record?
2 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.
- La Fayette, IL154 people · 5 mi SE
- Bishop Hill, IL112 people · 5 mi NW
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 Galva's climate
What is the coldest month in Galva?
January, with a normal high of 30°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Galva?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Galva's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Kewanee (8 miles away), records 31 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Galva?
June, with 5.17 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.62 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Galva in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Galva in zone 5b in ZIP code 61434, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Galva's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −13°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Galva?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 26; in one year in ten it comes after May 11. Waiting until May 11 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Altona, IL7 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Kewanee, IL9 miles from this station, 49.6°F a year
- Geneseo, IL20 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Princeville, IL22 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made