Ames, IA 50014 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Ames, IA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/26, about 241 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/08, about 164 frost-free days later.
Ames 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
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Ames before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Ames's last frost
04/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/11 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Ames compares
Ames's growing season runs about 164 days, ranking 30,830 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 576 of 1,042.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Ames's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Ames can differ from the 50014 normal.