Milo, IA 50166 Frost Dates
50166, near Milo, IA: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/24, about 239 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/12, roughly 168 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Milo 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
Milo's growing season runs out in roughly 6 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/24 isn't a guarantee
04/24 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/11 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/08 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Milo against the rest of the dataset
Milo's growing season runs about 168 days, ranking 29,752 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 382 of 1,042.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 50166: local microclimates, on what one yard in Milo can differ from the 50166 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5b and Milo's frost date answer different questions.