Alden, IA 50006 Frost Dates
Alden, IA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/28, about 243 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/10, roughly 164 days after the last spring frost.
Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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 Alden, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 6 weeks until Alden's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/28 isn't a guarantee
04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/13 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/11 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Alden against the rest of the dataset
About 164 days separate Alden's last and first frost, putting it 31,085 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 606 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 50006's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Alden can differ from the 50006 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Alden's frost date answer different questions.