Badger, IA 50516 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Badger, IA, ZIP 50516
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/28, roughly 243 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/08, about 162 frost-free days later.
Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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 Badger, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5a around Badger 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
04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/13 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Badger compares
Badger's growing season runs about 162 days, ranking 31,836 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 720 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Badger's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Badger's dates instead of trusting one.