Paxton, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Paxton's normal year runs from 15°F January nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 37.9 inches of precipitation and 18 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, 962 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPaxton (2 mi WSW)
- Station IDUSC00116663
- Location40.45°N 88.14°W
- Elevation758 ft (231 m)
- Population4,402
On October 23, the normal high in Paxton is 62°F and the normal low 39°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 Paxton.
- Jan 32° 15°
- Feb 37° 19°
- Mar 49° 29°
- Apr 62° 39°
- May 73° 51°
- Jun 82° 60°
- Jul 84° 62°
- Aug 83° 60°
- Sep 79° 52°
- Oct 65° 41°
- Nov 50° 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 Paxton 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 (4.51 in), the least in February (1.92 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F | 15°F | 23.8°F | 2.03 | 4.9 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 37°F | 19°F | 28.0°F | 1.92 | 6.1 | 7 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 29°F | 38.6°F | 2.61 | 2.1 | 9 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 39°F | 50.4°F | 3.73 | 0.3 | 11 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 73°F | 51°F | 62.1°F | 4.51 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 82°F | 60°F | 70.9°F | 4.32 | 0.0 | 10 | 4 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 84°F | 62°F | 73.2°F | 4.00 | 0.0 | 9 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 83°F | 60°F | 71.4°F | 3.47 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 52°F | 65.4°F | 3.00 | 0.0 | 7 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 41°F | 53.2°F | 3.25 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 31°F | 40.1°F | 2.87 | 0.7 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 10 h |
| December | 37°F | 21°F | 29.3°F | 2.17 | 4.2 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 40°F | 50.5°F | 37.88 | 18.3 | 104 | 16 | 133 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −9°C | −4.6°C | 52 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 3°C | −7°C | −2.2°C | 49 mm | 15 cm |
| March | 9°C | −2°C | 3.7°C | 66 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 95 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 23°C | 11°C | 16.7°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 16°C | 21.6°C | 110 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29°C | 17°C | 22.9°C | 102 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.9°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 11°C | 18.6°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 83 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | −1°C | 4.5°C | 73 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 3°C | −6°C | −1.5°C | 55 mm | 11 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00116663; 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 Paxton?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August, September and October. 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 USC00116663.
When is the last frost in Paxton?
In Paxton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 12 in half of years and before September 26 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 9; 9 in 10 after April 9
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 121 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 170 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 192 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 13 in half of springs and before October 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Paxton in zone 6a in ZIP code 60957, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Paxton's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (22 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 USC00116663; 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 Paxton?
In a normal year in Paxton, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 133 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 104 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
- 133a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 43high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 104a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 8a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00116663.
How sunny is Paxton?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Paxton, 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 Paxton need?
A normal year in Paxton brings 6,112 heating degree days, 14% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 874 cooling degree days, 4% 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 3,232 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,278 | 0 |
| February | 1,036 | 0 |
| March | 819 | 1 |
| April | 445 | 7 |
| May | 165 | 75 |
| June | 26 | 202 |
| July | 5 | 260 |
| August | 10 | 210 |
| September | 92 | 105 |
| October | 382 | 15 |
| November | 747 | 0 |
| December | 1,107 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,112 | 874 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00116663. 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 Paxton's climate compare?
Paxton is warmer than 45 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 30. 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, Paxton 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 Paxton share this climate record?
3 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.
- Buckley, IL468 people · 11 mi NE
- Loda, IL331 people · 5 mi NE
- Ludlow, IL301 people · 5 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 Paxton's climate
What is the coldest month in Paxton?
January, with a normal high of 32°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Paxton?
Yes: 18 inches in a normal year, falling on 11 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (6.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Paxton?
May, with 4.51 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.92 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Paxton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Paxton in zone 6a in ZIP code 60957, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Paxton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Paxton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 23; in one year in ten it comes after May 9. Waiting until May 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Rantoul, IL10 miles from this station, 52.3°F a year
- Gibson City, IL12 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Piper City, IL21 miles from this station, 51.9°F a year
- Hoopeston, IL24 miles from this station, 52.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made