Blencoe, IA 51523 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Blencoe, IA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/01, roughly 246 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/03, about 155 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 Blencoe, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Blencoe before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Blencoe's last frost
05/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/17 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/12 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Blencoe compares
Blencoe's growing season runs about 155 days, ranking 34,150 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 883 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Blencoe's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Blencoe's dates instead of trusting one.