Waterloo, IA 50701 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Waterloo, IA?
Around 04/27 is the usual last spring frost, about 242 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/10, about 165 frost-free days later.
Waterloo 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
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Waterloo before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/11 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 Waterloo compares
At roughly 165 frost-free days, Waterloo places 30,493 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 484 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Waterloo's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Waterloo's dates instead of trusting one.