Piper City, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Piper City's normal year runs from 16°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 44.4 inches of precipitation and 25 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.1°C, January lows of −9°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,128 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPiper City
- Station IDUSC00116819
- Location40.76°N 88.18°W
- Elevation670 ft (204 m)
- Population737
On October 23, the normal high in Piper City is 64°F and the normal low 39°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Piper City.
- Jan 35° 16°
- Feb 40° 19°
- Mar 52° 28°
- Apr 65° 38°
- May 76° 49°
- Jun 85° 60°
- Jul 88° 63°
- Aug 85° 60°
- Sep 80° 52°
- Oct 68° 42°
- Nov 53° 31°
- Dec 40° 22°
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 Piper City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.91 in), the least in February (2.75 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 16°F | 25.3°F | 3.40 | 8.6 | 9 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 40°F | 19°F | 29.5°F | 2.75 | 4.4 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 28°F | 39.8°F | 2.97 | 3.3 | 10 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 65°F | 38°F | 51.6°F | 4.02 | 0.9 | 12 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 76°F | 49°F | 62.6°F | 4.91 | 0.0 | 14 | 2 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 85°F | 60°F | 72.5°F | 4.53 | 0.0 | 12 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 88°F | 63°F | 75.3°F | 4.90 | 0.0 | 10 | 10 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 85°F | 60°F | 72.8°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 11 | 7 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 52°F | 66.3°F | 2.86 | 0.0 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 42°F | 54.8°F | 3.68 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 53°F | 31°F | 41.6°F | 3.22 | 1.3 | 11 | <1 | 18 | 10 h |
| December | 40°F | 22°F | 30.8°F | 3.01 | 6.2 | 10 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 40°F | 51.9°F | 44.39 | 24.7 | 124 | 28 | 134 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −9°C | −3.7°C | 86 mm | 22 cm |
| February | 5°C | −7°C | −1.4°C | 70 mm | 11 cm |
| March | 11°C | −2°C | 4.3°C | 75 mm | 8 cm |
| April | 18°C | 3°C | 10.9°C | 102 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 24°C | 10°C | 17.0°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 16°C | 22.5°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 17°C | 24.1°C | 124 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 16°C | 22.7°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 11°C | 19.1°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 5°C | 12.7°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 11°C | −1°C | 5.3°C | 82 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 5°C | −6°C | −0.7°C | 76 mm | 16 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00116819; 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 Piper City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. 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 USC00116819.
When is the last frost in Piper City?
In Piper City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 25 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 20 in half of years and before October 2 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 251 year in 10 after May 10; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 201 year in 10 before October 2; 9 in 10 before October 31
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 200 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 13 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Piper City in zone 6a in ZIP code 60959, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Piper City's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°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 USC00116819; 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 Piper City?
In a normal year in Piper City, 28 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 134 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 124 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 28a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 134a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 35high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 124a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 11a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1968) is 108°F, on August 17, 1988; the lowest is −25°F, on January 20, 1985.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2006, with 50.78 in; the snowiest season is 1981–82, with 68.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00116819; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00116819. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Piper City?
Over a year 74% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Piper City, 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 Piper City need?
A normal year in Piper City brings 5,770 heating degree days, 7% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,037 cooling degree days, 14% 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 3,486 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,230 | 0 |
| February | 994 | 0 |
| March | 784 | 2 |
| April | 412 | 10 |
| May | 151 | 76 |
| June | 20 | 245 |
| July | 2 | 323 |
| August | 6 | 248 |
| September | 74 | 113 |
| October | 337 | 20 |
| November | 701 | 1 |
| December | 1,059 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,770 | 1,037 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00116819. 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 Piper City's climate compare?
Piper City is warmer than 72 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 116. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.9°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Piper City 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 Piper City share this climate record?
9 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.
- Gilman, IL1,674 people · 10 mi E
- Onarga, IL1,294 people · 9 mi E
- Chatsworth, IL1,162 people · 7 mi W
- Forrest, IL1,019 people · 12 mi W
- Danforth, IL570 people · 12 mi NE
- Cullom, IL506 people · 10 mi NW
- Roberts, IL345 people · 10 mi S
- Thawville, IL205 people · 7 mi SE
- Kempton, IL177 people · 13 mi N
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 Piper City's climate
What is the coldest month in Piper City?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Piper City?
Yes: 25 inches in a normal year, falling on 16 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (8.6 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Piper City?
May, with 4.91 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.75 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Piper City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Piper City in zone 6a in ZIP code 60959, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Piper City's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −8°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Piper City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 25; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Paxton, IL21 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Gibson City, IL22 miles from this station, 50.7°F a year
- Watseka, IL22 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Pontiac, IL25 miles from this station, 51.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made