Curlew, IA 50527 Frost Dates
50527, near Curlew, IA: the frost window
Around 04/27 is the usual last spring frost, about 242 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/07, roughly 164 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Curlew in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Curlew's growing season runs out in roughly 6 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/27 isn't a guarantee
04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/11 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/09 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Curlew against the rest of the dataset
About 164 days separate Curlew's last and first frost, putting it 31,266 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 659 of 1,042.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 50527: local microclimates, on what one yard in Curlew can differ from the 50527 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5a and Curlew's frost date answer different questions.