Rockford, Illinois Weather
Day 50 of autumn. Read today’s microseason across nine climate regions →
Rockford weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 3:29 PM CST · Open-Meteo
- TodayNov 10Clear——63°36°—
- WednesdayNov 11Heavy Drizzle50%0.04″55°41°-8°
- ThursdayNov 12Heavy Drizzle16%0.04″43°31°-12°
- FridayNov 13Overcast——40°27°-3°
- SaturdayNov 14Clear——43°25°+3°
- SundayNov 15Clear——45°29°+2°
- MondayNov 16Overcast——46°33°+1°
Air quality now AQI 18 · Good
AQI 18 (Good), driven by Ozone. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±3 points).
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
When the wind is in the west, the weather is at its best.
- Moonrise
- 8:25 AM
- Moonset
- 5:13 PM
- In sign
- ♐︎ Sagittarius
Rockford at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 50°F (high 63°F, low 36°F), 9°F above the 41°F normal for Nov 10
- Last frost: April 24 (1991–2020 median, NOAA station 8 km away)
- Microseason: Nov 6–10
- Planting calendar: November — harvest fall brassicas, carrots
16-Day Forecast — Rockford
- Tue63°36°0%
- Wed55°40°50%
- Thu43°31°16%
- Fri40°27°0%
- Sat43°25°0%
- Sun45°29°4%
- Mon46°33°5%
- Tue48°33°4%
- Wed51°33°8%
- Thu53°42°18%
- Fri58°44°17%
- Sat57°49°35%
- Sun50°27°29%
- Mon29°21°30%
- Tue26°18°16%
- Wed37°26°16%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Rockford
Interactive wind and temperature map centered on Rockford — it loads in your browser. Open the full weather map.
Right now in the garden
Post-frost dormancy
As of November 10, the season's first frost (typically October 17) is due or past. Bring frost-tender plants indoors, mulch overwintering beds, and turn spent plantings under. This city's planting calendar for November: harvest fall brassicas and carrots.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Rockford
SPC includes Rockford in the general thunderstorm area tomorrow — no severe risk, but storms are possible.
- TODAYNONENo severe risk
- TOMORROWTSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
- DAY 3NONENo severe risk
Thunderstorms possible. Not severe, but capable of producing lightning and brief heavy rain.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook.
Sun & seasons in Rockford
Rockford sits in Winnebago County, where the year’s longest day runs 15h 16m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 5m — a swing of +6h 11m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Chicago, the state’s largest city, lies about 76 miles to the ESE. The nearest town Rockford tracks is Lake Summerset, roughly 22 miles to the NW.
Air quality in Rockford
Air quality in Rockford’s county has held roughly steady since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2025 (median AQI 40). See the full air-quality history for Rockford.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | radishes |
| May | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, spinach, radishes |
| June | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | lettuce, peas, spinach, beans, summer squash, garlic |
| August | beans, squash, fall brassicas, carrots | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| September | garlic (overwinter) | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| October | — | tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash, fall brassicas, carrots |
| November | — | fall brassicas, carrots |
A year in weather
Rockford peaks at about 74°F in July and bottoms near 22°F in January; June brings the heaviest rain (5.2 inches) and January the least (1.6 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22° | 1.6″ | 4 |
| February | 26° | 1.6″ | 4 |
| March | 37° | 2.4″ | 5 |
| April | 49° | 3.8″ | 7 |
| May | 60° | 4.2″ | 8 |
| June | 70° | 5.2″ | 8 |
| July | 74° | 3.8″ | 6 |
| August | 72° | 4.2″ | 6 |
| September | 64° | 3.6″ | 5 |
| October | 52° | 2.6″ | 5 |
| November | 39° | 2.3″ | 5 |
| December | 27° | 1.9″ | 5 |
Regional context
Similar climates Cherry Valley, IL, New Milford, IL, Loves Park, IL
Per NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals, Rockford runs from a 22°F January mean to 74°F in July, a 52°F seasonal spread, with near 37.2 inches of precipitation across about 69 wet days.
Precipitation in Rockford runs summer-dominant: June averages 5.2 inches across 7.8 days of warm-season storms, while January drops to 1.6 inches over 4.4 rainy days of drier cool air. Rockford shares that warm-season-wet pattern with places like Cherry Valley, IL, New Milford, IL and Loves Park, IL.
Once Rockford passes April 24, freezes fade and Rockford's beds take kale, peas, spinach, and parsnips. Rockford's heat-lovers — tomatoes, peppers, squash — hold off until Rockford's frost risk clears, 10-14 days on. By October 17, frost is back in Rockford — protect or harvest anything tender. That date is a median: Rockford freezes sooner in half of years.
Similar climates: Cherry Valley, IL, New Milford, IL, Loves Park, IL, Machesney Park, IL, Winnebago, IL.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Rockford?
- Rockford's last spring frost lands near April 24, and in Rockford the first fall frost follows around October 17.
- What is the rainy season in Rockford?
- Rockford sees its heaviest rain in June (around 5.2 inches), part of roughly 37 inches a year.
- What is the warmest month in Rockford?
- Rockford peaks in July, when the mean runs near 74°F.
- What is the coldest month in Rockford?
- January is Rockford's coldest month, averaging about 22°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Rockford?
- Hardy spring crops go in near April 24 in Rockford; tender peppers and squash wait 10–14 days.
- How many rainy days does Rockford get?
- Expect roughly 69 wet days a year in Rockford.
- What hardiness zone is Rockford?
- Because Rockford bottoms near 22°F in January, that winter low sets Rockford's USDA zone — verify by ZIP.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Rockford?
- Rockford's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Rockford?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Rockford in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Rockford?
- Current conditions for Rockford and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Rockford forecast updated?
- The Rockford forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Rockford?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Rockford are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Rockford?
- The next few days in Rockford's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Rockford sits at 42.3°N; its climate zone is warm-summer humid continental (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Rockford
- 61101
- 61102
- 61103
- 61104
- 61105
- 61106
- 61107
- 61108
- 61109
- 61110
- 61112
- 61114
- 61125
- 61126