Riceville, IA 50466 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Riceville, IA?
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.
Zone 4b (-25 to -20°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Riceville, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Riceville before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
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 Riceville compares
About 163 days separate Riceville's last and first frost, putting it 31,489 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 672 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4b and Riceville's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Riceville's dates instead of trusting one.