Peoria, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Peoria's normal year runs from 18°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 37.5 inches of precipitation and 26 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.5°C, January lows of −8°C, July highs of 30°C, 954 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGeneral Wayne A. Downing International Airport
- Station IDUSW00014842
- Location40.67°N 89.68°W
- Elevation650 ft (198 m)
- From the center7 miles
- Population111,696
On October 14, the normal high in Peoria is 66°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 30%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Peoria.
- Jan 34° 18°
- Feb 39° 21°
- Mar 51° 32°
- Apr 64° 42°
- May 74° 53°
- Jun 83° 62°
- Jul 86° 66°
- Aug 85° 64°
- Sep 78° 56°
- Oct 65° 44°
- Nov 51° 33°
- Dec 39° 23°
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 Peoria each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 18°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.69 in), the least in February (1.99 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 18°F | 25.6°F | 2.06 | 7.7 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 39°F | 21°F | 30.0°F | 1.99 | 6.9 | 9 | <1 | 24 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 51°F | 32°F | 41.4°F | 2.69 | 3.3 | 11 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 42°F | 52.9°F | 3.99 | 0.5 | 12 | <1 | 4 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 74°F | 53°F | 63.5°F | 4.69 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 83°F | 62°F | 72.8°F | 3.73 | 0.0 | 11 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 86°F | 66°F | 76.3°F | 3.53 | 0.0 | 9 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 85°F | 64°F | 74.5°F | 3.31 | 0.0 | 8 | 6 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 78°F | 56°F | 67.4°F | 3.48 | 0.0 | 8 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 44°F | 54.9°F | 3.17 | 0.1 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 33°F | 41.9°F | 2.70 | 1.5 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| December | 39°F | 23°F | 30.9°F | 2.21 | 6.2 | 10 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 43°F | 52.7°F | 37.55 | 26.2 | 117 | 23 | 118 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −8°C | −3.6°C | 52 mm | 20 cm |
| February | 4°C | −6°C | −1.1°C | 51 mm | 18 cm |
| March | 11°C | 0°C | 5.2°C | 68 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 18°C | 6°C | 11.6°C | 101 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 23°C | 12°C | 17.5°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 28°C | 17°C | 22.7°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 19°C | 24.6°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 29°C | 18°C | 23.6°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 7°C | 12.7°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | 1°C | 5.5°C | 69 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 4°C | −5°C | −0.6°C | 56 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014842; 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 Peoria?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USW00014842.
When is the last frost in Peoria?
In Peoria, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 16 in half of years and after May 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 23 in half of years and before October 9 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 161 year in 10 after May 4; 9 in 10 after April 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 231 year in 10 before October 9; 9 in 10 before November 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 189 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 212 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 5 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Peoria in zone 6a across its 7 ZIP code areas (6a in 61615, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Peoria's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (30 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 USW00014842; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Peoria ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Peoria's 7 ZIP code areas are all in zone 6a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Peoria?
In a normal year in Peoria, 23 days a year reach 90°F, 118 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 117 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
- 118a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 37high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 117a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 8a normal year
The highest temperature in Peoria's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1883) is 113°F, on July 15, 1936; the lowest is −27°F, on January 5, 1884.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 55.35 in; the snowiest season is 2013–14, with 57.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00014842; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record PIAthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Peoria, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 64°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 65°F; the driest air comes in January (19°F). March is the windiest month (10.0 mph on average), and July has the most clear or nearly clear hours (72%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | 74% | 63% | 8.7 mph | 51% | 39% |
| February | 25°F | 70% | 56% | 9.3 mph | 49% | 40% |
| March | 34°F | 62% | 47% | 10.0 mph | 53% | 33% |
| April | 45°F | 63% | 49% | 9.1 mph | 55% | 30% |
| May | 56°F | 67% | 51% | 7.6 mph | 61% | 21% |
| June | 64°F | 69% | 52% | 6.8 mph | 68% | 12% |
| July | 65°F | 72% | 54% | 5.8 mph | 72% | 11% |
| August | 62°F | 72% | 52% | 6.1 mph | 72% | 13% |
| September | 50°F | 68% | 47% | 7.0 mph | 69% | 19% |
| October | 38°F | 69% | 53% | 8.5 mph | 55% | 35% |
| November | 28°F | 74% | 62% | 8.8 mph | 52% | 41% |
| December | 21°F | 76% | 66% | 8.7 mph | 49% | 44% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00014842. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Peoria?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Peoria, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (62%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 330th (with 21 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 64% | 1.9 |
| February | 67% | 2.8 |
| March | 68% | 3.7 |
| April | 71% | 4.9 |
| May | 72% | 5.6 |
| June | 79% | 6.3 |
| July | 83% | 6.4 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 81% | 4.7 |
| October | 73% | 3.2 |
| November | 70% | 2.2 |
| 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 Peoria need?
A normal year in Peoria brings 5,614 heating degree days, 4% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,157 cooling degree days, 28% 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 3,670 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,221 | 0 |
| February | 978 | 0 |
| March | 734 | 2 |
| April | 376 | 13 |
| May | 135 | 88 |
| June | 13 | 247 |
| July | 1 | 351 |
| August | 3 | 297 |
| September | 67 | 137 |
| October | 335 | 22 |
| November | 694 | 1 |
| December | 1,059 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,614 | 1,157 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00014842. 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 Peoria been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 53.8°F, 1.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.7°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.9°F | +1.2°F | 44.57 | 26.9 |
| 2022 | 52.2°F | −0.5°F | 28.75 | 35.4 |
| 2023 | 55.5°F | +2.8°F | 35.20 | 16.8 |
| 2024 | 56.1°F | +3.4°F | 35.45 | 20.0 |
| 2025 | 53.8°F | +1.1°F | 25.31 | 25.5 |
Over 156 complete years from 1856 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00014842; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Peoria's climate compare?
Peoria is warmer than 89 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 21. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.7°F is warmer than 52%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Peoria 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 Peoria share this climate record?
26 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.
- Pekin, IL31,266 people · 7 mi SE
- East Peoria, IL22,024 people · 7 mi E
- Bartonville, IL5,836 people · 2 mi SE
- Peoria Heights, IL5,802 people · 8 mi NE
- Creve Coeur, IL4,832 people · 5 mi SE
- West Peoria, IL4,204 people · 3 mi NE
- Germantown Hills, IL3,450 people · 14 mi NE
- Marquette Heights, IL2,485 people · 5 mi SE
- Farmington, IL2,295 people · 17 mi W
- Tremont, IL2,247 people · 14 mi SE
- Bellevue, IL1,903 people · 1 mi N
- Lake Camelot, IL1,744 people · 4 mi SW
- North Pekin, IL1,439 people · 5 mi SE
- Hanna City, IL1,248 people · 7 mi W
- South Pekin, IL965 people · 12 mi S
- Glasford, IL849 people · 9 mi SW
- Spring Bay, IL483 people · 13 mi NE
- Norwood, IL433 people · 3 mi N
- Trivoli, IL364 people · 11 mi W
- Bay View Gardens, IL353 people · 13 mi NE
- Kingston Mines, IL267 people · 9 mi SW
- Mapleton, IL253 people · 7 mi S
- Mossville, IL210 people · 12 mi NE
- Norris, IL167 people · 18 mi W
- Banner, IL158 people · 16 mi SW
- Smithville, IL49 people · 6 mi W
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 Peoria's climate
What is the coldest month in Peoria?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 18°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Peoria?
Yes: 26 inches in a normal year, falling on 20 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (7.7 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Peoria?
May, with 4.69 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 1.99 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Peoria in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Peoria in zone 6a across its 7 ZIP code areas (6a in 61615, the largest). By the same method at Peoria's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −9°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Peoria?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 16; in one year in ten it comes after May 4. Waiting until May 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Peoria in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Princeville, IL19 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Congerville, IL24 miles from this station, 52.0°F a year
- Lacon, IL28 miles from this station, 52.6°F a year
- Havana, IL32 miles from this station, 52.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made