Universal, IN 47880 Frost Dates
Universal, IN: when does the frost end?
Around 04/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 230 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/19, roughly 187 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Universal in Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 7 weeks until Universal's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/15 isn't a guarantee
04/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/31 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/03 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Universal against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 187 frost-free days, Universal places 22,599 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IN, it ranks 317 of 927.
Learn more
Before leaning on 47880's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Universal's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Universal's dates instead of trusting one.