Adair, IA 50002 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Adair, IA, ZIP 50002
Around 05/02 is the usual last spring frost, about 247 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/03, about 153 frost-free days later.
Adair sits in USDA Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 5b around Adair has about 5 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/02 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/18 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/17 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Adair compares
About 153 days separate Adair's last and first frost, putting it 34,574 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 925 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Adair's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Adair's dates instead of trusting one.