Westgate, IA 50681 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Westgate, IA, ZIP 50681
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/27, roughly 242 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/13, about 169 frost-free days later.
Westgate 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.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5a around Westgate has about 7 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.
The actual range around Westgate's last frost
04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/12 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/10 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Westgate compares
About 169 days separate Westgate's last and first frost, putting it 29,611 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 356 of 1,042.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Westgate can differ from the 50681 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Westgate's frost date answer different questions.