Schaller, IA 51053 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Schaller, IA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/30, roughly 245 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/09, about 162 frost-free days later.
Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Schaller, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Schaller before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Schaller's last frost
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/15 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Schaller compares
About 162 days separate Schaller's last and first frost, putting it 31,825 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 717 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Schaller's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Schaller's dates instead of trusting one.