Roland, IA 50236 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Roland, IA, ZIP 50236
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/24, about 239 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/12, about 170 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Roland in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5a around Roland has about 6 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
The actual range around Roland's last frost
04/24 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/09 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/07 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Roland compares
Roland's growing season runs about 170 days, ranking 29,089 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 303 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Roland's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Roland's dates instead of trusting one.