Pittsfield, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pittsfield's normal year runs from 19°F January nights to 88°F July afternoons, with 40.5 inches of precipitation and 16 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.1°C, January lows of −7°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,029 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPittsfield #2
- Station IDUSC00116837
- Location39.62°N 90.80°W
- Elevation670 ft (204 m)
- Population4,048
On October 23, the normal high in Pittsfield is 65°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pittsfield.
- Jan 37° 19°
- Feb 42° 22°
- Mar 53° 32°
- Apr 66° 42°
- May 75° 54°
- Jun 84° 63°
- Jul 88° 66°
- Aug 87° 64°
- Sep 80° 55°
- Oct 68° 44°
- Nov 54° 33°
- Dec 42° 24°
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 Pittsfield each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 88°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 19°F. The most precipitation falls in June (5.01 in), the least in January (2.03 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 19°F | 27.5°F | 2.03 | 4.0 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 42°F | 22°F | 32.1°F | 2.14 | 5.1 | 7 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 32°F | 42.2°F | 2.95 | 1.7 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 42°F | 54.1°F | 4.14 | 0.3 | 11 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 54°F | 64.6°F | 4.83 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 84°F | 63°F | 73.6°F | 5.01 | 0.0 | 10 | 7 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 88°F | 66°F | 76.8°F | 4.10 | 0.0 | 8 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 64°F | 75.1°F | 3.43 | 0.0 | 8 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 55°F | 67.4°F | 3.61 | 0.0 | 8 | 5 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 68°F | 44°F | 55.8°F | 3.01 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 54°F | 33°F | 43.5°F | 2.92 | 1.1 | 8 | <1 | 16 | 10 h |
| December | 42°F | 24°F | 32.6°F | 2.33 | 3.4 | 7 | <1 | 26 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 43°F | 53.8°F | 40.50 | 15.6 | 102 | 31 | 119 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −7°C | −2.5°C | 52 mm | 10 cm |
| February | 5°C | −5°C | 0.1°C | 54 mm | 13 cm |
| March | 12°C | 0°C | 5.7°C | 75 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 19°C | 6°C | 12.3°C | 105 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 17°C | 23.1°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 24.9°C | 104 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 23.9°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 13°C | 19.7°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 7°C | 13.2°C | 76 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | 1°C | 6.4°C | 74 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 5°C | −5°C | 0.3°C | 59 mm | 9 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00116837; 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 Pittsfield?
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 (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 USC00116837.
When is the last frost in Pittsfield?
In Pittsfield, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 14 in half of years and after April 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 21 in half of years and before October 5 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 141 year in 10 after April 30; 9 in 10 after March 31
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 211 year in 10 before October 5; 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 210 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 4 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pittsfield in zone 6a in ZIP code 62363, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Illinois · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00116837; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Pittsfield?
In a normal year in Pittsfield, 31 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 119 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 102 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 31a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 119a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 31high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 102a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00116837.
How sunny is Pittsfield?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pittsfield, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (83%) and December the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 66% | 2.0 |
| February | 67% | 2.8 |
| March | 68% | 3.7 |
| April | 72% | 4.9 |
| May | 73% | 5.6 |
| June | 80% | 6.3 |
| July | 83% | 6.4 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 82% | 4.8 |
| October | 75% | 3.3 |
| November | 72% | 2.3 |
| December | 65% | 1.7 |
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 Pittsfield need?
A normal year in Pittsfield brings 5,301 heating degree days, 1% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,252 cooling degree days, 38% 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 3,847 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,162 | 0 |
| February | 921 | 0 |
| March | 708 | 3 |
| April | 349 | 22 |
| May | 116 | 105 |
| June | 12 | 268 |
| July | 2 | 367 |
| August | 3 | 315 |
| September | 68 | 141 |
| October | 312 | 28 |
| November | 646 | 2 |
| December | 1,004 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,301 | 1,252 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00116837. 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 Pittsfield been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 55.1°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 53.8°F. 1 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.6°F | −0.2°F | 44.42 | – |
| 2022 | 51.7°F | −2.1°F | 36.83 | – |
| 2024 | 55.1°F | +1.3°F | 47.01 | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00116837. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pittsfield's climate compare?
Pittsfield is warmer than 106 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 82. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.8°F is warmer than 56%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pittsfield 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 Pittsfield share this climate record?
5 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.
- Griggsville, IL1,051 people · 7 mi NE
- Milton, IL206 people · 9 mi SE
- New Salem, IL116 people · 7 mi N
- Detroit, IL74 people · 7 mi E
- Valley City, IL15 people · 10 mi NE
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 Pittsfield's climate
What is the coldest month in Pittsfield?
January, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 19°F. The warmest is July (88°F by day, 66°F at night).
Does it snow in Pittsfield?
Yes: 16 inches in a normal year, falling on 8 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (5.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Pittsfield?
June, with 5.01 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 2.03 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pittsfield in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pittsfield in zone 6a in ZIP code 62363, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Pittsfield?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 14; in one year in ten it comes after April 30. Waiting until April 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Perry, IL13 miles from this station, 53.3°F a year
- Clarksville, MO18 miles from this station, 54.4°F a year
- Winchester, IL19 miles from this station, 52.9°F a year
- Saverton, MO24 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made