Orchard, IA 50460 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Orchard, IA, ZIP 50460
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/30, about 245 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/09, about 163 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Orchard 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 Orchard 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.
Why 04/30 isn't a guarantee
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 Orchard compares
At roughly 163 frost-free days, Orchard places 31,554 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 687 of 1,042.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Orchard can differ from the 50460 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Orchard's frost date answer different questions.