Dexter, IA 50070 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Dexter, IA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/30, about 245 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/03, about 157 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 Dexter, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Dexter before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Dexter's last frost
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/17 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 Dexter compares
About 157 days separate Dexter's last and first frost, putting it 33,415 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 846 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Dexter's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Dexter's dates instead of trusting one.