Macksburg, IA 50155 Frost Dates
Macksburg, IA: when does the frost end?
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/03, roughly 157 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Macksburg in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 5 weeks until Macksburg's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/30 isn't a guarantee
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 05/11 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Macksburg against the rest of the dataset
About 157 days separate Macksburg's last and first frost, putting it 33,467 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 859 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 50155's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Macksburg's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Macksburg can differ from the 50155 normal.