Avoca, IA 51521 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Avoca, IA?
Around 04/27 is the usual last spring frost, about 242 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/09, about 165 frost-free days later.
Avoca sits in USDA Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Avoca before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/27 isn't a guarantee
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. 05/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Avoca compares
At roughly 165 frost-free days, Avoca places 30,617 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 509 of 1,042.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Avoca can differ from the 51521 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Avoca's frost date answer different questions.