FrostDateCheck

Beaver, IA 50031 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Beaver, IA?

Zone 5a

Around 04/28 is the usual last spring frost, about 243 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/12, about 165 frost-free days later.

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 Beaver, not a forecast for this year.

What to do before the first frost

About 6 weeks of growing season left in Beaver before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

The actual range around Beaver's last frost

04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/13 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Beaver compares

Beaver's growing season runs about 165 days, ranking 30,791 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 572 of 1,042.

Learn more

the frost range covers how to read the range around Beaver's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Beaver can differ from the 50031 normal.