Sioux Rapids, IA 50585 Frost Dates
Sioux Rapids, IA: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/30, roughly 245 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/05, roughly 159 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sioux Rapids 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 Sioux Rapids's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/14 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/11 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Sioux Rapids against the rest of the dataset
Sioux Rapids's growing season runs about 159 days, ranking 32,711 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 788 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 50585's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Sioux Rapids's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Sioux Rapids can differ from the 50585 normal.