Ringsted, IA 50578 Frost Dates
Ringsted, IA: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/02, roughly 247 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/03, roughly 153 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ringsted 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
With roughly 5 weeks until Ringsted's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
The actual range around Ringsted's last frost
05/02 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/18 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/14 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Ringsted against the rest of the dataset
Ringsted's growing season runs about 153 days, ranking 34,619 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 936 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 50578's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Ringsted's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Ringsted's dates instead of trusting one.