FrostDateCheck

Escanaba, MI 49894 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Escanaba, MI?

Zone 5a

Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/13, roughly 258 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/07, about 147 frost-free days later.

Escanaba sits in USDA Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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

About 6 weeks of growing season left in Escanaba before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

The actual range around Escanaba's last frost

05/13 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. 05/31 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Escanaba compares

Escanaba's growing season runs about 147 days, ranking 35,870 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MI, it ranks 859 of 1,153.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Escanaba can differ from the 49894 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Escanaba's frost date answer different questions.