McIntire, IA 50455 Frost Dates
Frost dates for McIntire, IA, ZIP 50455
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/09, about 163 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts McIntire 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 McIntire 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/14 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/12 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How McIntire compares
At roughly 163 frost-free days, McIntire places 31,549 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 685 of 1,042.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in McIntire can differ from the 50455 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and McIntire's frost date answer different questions.