Get ready for winter temps, Farmers’ Almanac predicts Belleville’s first frost soon
Fall is officially here, which means the first frost of the season is fast approaching and Jack Frost will soon be threatening your hanging baskets and garden vegetables.
The Farmers’ Almanac is projecting the first frost dates for four Illinois cities by looking at the normal dates for each location. According to the almanac, Springfield could see the first frost of the fall Oct. 13. Next is Mt. Vernon Oct. 14, followed by Quincy Oct. 22 and Chicago’s first frost Oct. 24.
The almanac states these dates are for light freezes and frosts, putting the possibility of one occurring before their given dates at 50%.
It also classifies frosts by their effect on plants, with a light frost varying between 29 and 32 degrees, enough to kill tender plants. Those include peppers, pumpkins, tomatoes and cucumbers, for example.
From The Farmers’ Almanac:
Light freeze: 29 to 32 degrees – tender plants killed, with little destructive effect on other vegetation.
Moderate freeze: 25 to 28 degrees – widely destructive effect on most vegetation, with heavy damage to fruit blossoms and tender and semi-hardy plants.
Severe freeze: 24 degrees and colder – damage to most plants.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac – which bills itself as “America’s oldest weather forecaster” – is anticipating the first frost by city. It predicts the first frost in Belleville arriving as soon as Oct. 14.
The National Weather Service states, on average, the first freeze of the fall occurs around the middle of October, roughly between Oct. 11 and Oct. 20 for Central Illinois.
How to protect your plants from the frost
Generally speaking, you can do more to protect freshly sprouted seedlings from spring cold snaps than mature plants from the first frost of fall. That said, if you’re in a tight spot and have low-lying garden vegetables you want to keep alive for a bit longer to harvest them, there are some limited options for you.
The Illinois Extension recommends row cover fabric or even old bedsheets you can drape over plants and garden beds to save them from an overnight chill. Covering your garden with the fallen autumn leaves you find around your yard can work when you run out of bedding.
The Illinois state climatologist recommends extra vigilance from the frost in the fall.
According to the office, “subtract two weeks from the average date to be on guard against an early frost” in the fall.
Open, grassy areas are usually the first to experience frost, while areas under trees are more protected, according to the state climatologist. Plants near heated buildings might be spared, given the abundance of warm buildings and trees.