Ankeny, IA 50940 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Ankeny, IA, ZIP 50940
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/23, roughly 238 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/15, about 173 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ankeny in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Ankeny 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/08 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/06 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Ankeny compares
Ankeny's growing season runs about 173 days, ranking 27,725 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 251 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Ankeny's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Ankeny's dates instead of trusting one.