Washta, IA 51061 Frost Dates
Washta, IA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/30, about 245 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/09, roughly 162 days after the last spring frost.
Washta 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 Washta's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/30 isn't a guarantee
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/15 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/11 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Washta against the rest of the dataset
Washta's growing season runs about 162 days, ranking 31,873 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 733 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 51061's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Washta can differ from the 51061 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Washta's frost date answer different questions.