Atlantic, IA 50022 Frost Dates
Atlantic, IA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/30, about 245 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/02, roughly 153 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 Atlantic, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 5 weeks until Atlantic's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/17 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/15 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Atlantic against the rest of the dataset
Atlantic's growing season runs about 153 days, ranking 34,526 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 916 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 50022's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Atlantic's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Atlantic can differ from the 50022 normal.