Merrill, MI 48641 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Merrill, MI?
Around 05/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 260 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/29, about 134 frost-free days later.
Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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 Merrill, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Merrill before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Merrill's last frost
05/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/02 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Merrill compares
About 134 days separate Merrill's last and first frost, putting it 38,001 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MI, it ranks 988 of 1,153.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Merrill's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Merrill can differ from the 48641 normal.