Adel, IA 50003 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Adel, IA, ZIP 50003
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/19, about 234 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/18, about 179 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 Adel, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Adel has about 7 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
04/19 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/05 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/03 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Adel compares
About 179 days separate Adel's last and first frost, putting it 25,270 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 100 of 1,042.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Adel's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Adel can differ from the 50003 normal.