Shabbona, Illinois climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Shabbona's normal year runs from 13°F January nights to 82°F July afternoons, with 37.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.8°C, January lows of −10°C, July highs of 28°C, 950 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationShabbona (5 mi NNE)
- Station IDUSW00054811
- Location41.84°N 88.85°W
- Elevation861 ft (262 m)
- From the center6 miles
- Population852
On October 23, the normal high in Shabbona is 58°F and the normal low 37°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 Shabbona.
- Jan 28° 13°
- Feb 32° 17°
- Mar 46° 27°
- Apr 59° 37°
- May 70° 48°
- Jun 80° 58°
- Jul 82° 61°
- Aug 80° 58°
- Sep 74° 50°
- Oct 62° 39°
- Nov 46° 29°
- Dec 33° 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 Shabbona each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 82°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 13°F. The most precipitation falls in May (4.59 in), the least in January (1.67 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28°F | 13°F | 20.9°F | 1.67 | 12 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 32°F | 17°F | 24.7°F | 1.92 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 30 min |
| March | 46°F | 27°F | 36.3°F | 2.48 | 13 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 37°F | 47.7°F | 3.62 | 12 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 48°F | 59.1°F | 4.59 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 80°F | 58°F | 68.7°F | 4.54 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 82°F | 61°F | 71.0°F | 3.77 | 11 | 2 | <1 | 15 h |
| August | 80°F | 58°F | 68.8°F | 4.08 | 10 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 74°F | 50°F | 62.3°F | 3.42 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 39°F | 50.4°F | 2.98 | 10 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 46°F | 29°F | 37.4°F | 2.29 | 8 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 50 min |
| December | 33°F | 19°F | 26.2°F | 2.05 | 12 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 38°F | 47.8°F | 37.41 | 131 | 8 | 144 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −2°C | −10°C | −6.2°C | 42 mm |
| February | 0°C | −8°C | −4.1°C | 49 mm |
| March | 8°C | −3°C | 2.4°C | 63 mm |
| April | 15°C | 3°C | 8.7°C | 92 mm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 15.1°C | 117 mm |
| June | 26°C | 14°C | 20.4°C | 115 mm |
| July | 28°C | 16°C | 21.7°C | 96 mm |
| August | 26°C | 15°C | 20.4°C | 104 mm |
| September | 24°C | 10°C | 16.8°C | 87 mm |
| October | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 76 mm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 3.0°C | 58 mm |
| December | 1°C | −7°C | −3.2°C | 52 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, DeKalb (7 miles away), gets 33 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054811; 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 Shabbona?
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 (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 USW00054811.
When is the last frost in Shabbona?
In Shabbona, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 10 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 281 year in 10 after May 13; 9 in 10 after April 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 101 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 163 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 184 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 17 in half of springs and before October 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Shabbona in zone 5b in ZIP code 60550, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Shabbona's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (17 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 USW00054811; 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 Shabbona?
In a normal year in Shabbona, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 144 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 144a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 55high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 2003) is 99°F, on July 7, 2012; the lowest is −30°F, on January 31, 2019.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2019, with 50.08 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00054811; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00054811. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Shabbona?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Shabbona, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (81%) and January the cloudiest (61%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 61% | 1.7 |
| February | 65% | 2.6 |
| March | 67% | 3.6 |
| April | 70% | 4.8 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 77% | 6.1 |
| July | 81% | 6.2 |
| August | 80% | 5.4 |
| September | 80% | 4.5 |
| October | 71% | 3.0 |
| November | 67% | 2.0 |
| December | 61% | 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 Shabbona need?
A normal year in Shabbona brings 6,830 heating degree days, 27% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 594 cooling degree days, 35% 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 2,709 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,368 | 0 |
| February | 1,128 | 0 |
| March | 892 | 1 |
| April | 519 | 2 |
| May | 223 | 42 |
| June | 35 | 144 |
| July | 12 | 198 |
| August | 24 | 142 |
| September | 138 | 59 |
| October | 460 | 8 |
| November | 827 | 0 |
| December | 1,203 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,830 | 594 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00054811. 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 Shabbona been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 49.0°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.8°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.4°F | +1.6°F | 28.12 |
| 2023 | 50.2°F | +2.4°F | 32.07 |
| 2024 | 51.1°F | +3.3°F | 36.06 |
| 2025 | 49.0°F | +1.2°F | 29.13 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00054811. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Shabbona's climate compare?
Shabbona is warmer than 3 of the other 143 places with their own NOAA record in Illinois, and wetter than 19. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.8°F is warmer than 31%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Shabbona is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Shabbona 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.
- Waterman, IL1,543 people · 7 mi SE
- Lee, IL308 people · 6 mi SW
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 Shabbona's climate
What is the coldest month in Shabbona?
January, with a normal high of 28°F and a normal low of 13°F. The warmest is July (82°F by day, 61°F at night).
Does it snow in Shabbona?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Shabbona's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, DeKalb (7 miles away), records 33 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Shabbona?
May, with 4.59 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is January with 1.67 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Shabbona in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Shabbona in zone 5b in ZIP code 60550, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Shabbona's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Shabbona?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 13. Waiting until May 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Illinois climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- DeKalb, IL7 miles from this station, 48.6°F a year
- Rochelle, IL12 miles from this station, 47.9°F a year
- Paw Paw, IL14 miles from this station, 47.8°F a year
- Compton, IL16 miles from this station, 48.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made