Indianapolis, IN 46204 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Indianapolis, IN, ZIP 46204
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/20, about 235 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/21, about 183 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Indianapolis, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6b around Indianapolis has about 8 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/20 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/06 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/05 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Indianapolis compares
About 183 days separate Indianapolis's last and first frost, putting it 23,703 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IN, it ranks 395 of 927.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Indianapolis's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Indianapolis can differ from the 46204 normal.