Howard City, MI 49329 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Howard City, MI?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/18, about 263 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/28, about 133 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Howard City, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 4 weeks of growing season left in Howard City before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 05/18 isn't a guarantee
05/18 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/29 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/03 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Howard City compares
At roughly 133 frost-free days, Howard City places 38,067 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MI, it ranks 997 of 1,153.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Howard City's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Howard City can differ from the 49329 normal.