Empire, MI 49636 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Empire, MI, ZIP 49636
Around 05/22 is the usual last spring frost, about 267 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/09, about 140 frost-free days later.
Empire sits in USDA Zone 6b (-5 to 0°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6b around Empire has about 6 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.
Why 05/22 isn't a guarantee
05/22 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/04 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/06 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Empire compares
At roughly 140 frost-free days, Empire places 37,141 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MI, it ranks 914 of 1,153.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Empire's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Empire can differ from the 49636 normal.