Earlham, IA 50072 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Earlham, 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.
Earlham 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 5 weeks of growing season left in Earlham before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Earlham'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 Earlham compares
Earlham's growing season runs about 157 days, ranking 33,355 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 835 of 1,042.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Earlham's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Earlham can differ from the 50072 normal.