Dunkerton, IA 50626 Frost Dates
Dunkerton, IA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/27, about 242 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/10, roughly 165 days after the last spring frost.
Dunkerton sits in USDA Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 6 weeks until Dunkerton's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
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 05/10 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Dunkerton against the rest of the dataset
About 165 days separate Dunkerton's last and first frost, putting it 30,651 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 520 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 50626's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Dunkerton's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Dunkerton can differ from the 50626 normal.