Gary, IN 46406 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Gary, IN, ZIP 46406
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/23, about 238 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/20, about 179 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gary in Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6a around Gary 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
04/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/09 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Gary compares
At roughly 179 frost-free days, Gary places 25,146 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IN, it ranks 520 of 927.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Gary can differ from the 46406 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Gary's frost date answer different questions.