Modale, IA 51556 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Modale, IA, ZIP 51556
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/22, roughly 237 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/17, about 177 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Modale, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Modale 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.
The actual range around Modale's last frost
04/22 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/09 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/05 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Modale compares
About 177 days separate Modale's last and first frost, putting it 26,261 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 126 of 1,042.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Modale's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Modale can differ from the 51556 normal.