Earlville, IA 52041 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Earlville, IA, ZIP 52041
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/03, about 248 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/04, about 154 frost-free days later.
Earlville 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.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5a around Earlville has about 5 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/18 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/16 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Earlville compares
Earlville's growing season runs about 154 days, ranking 34,391 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 901 of 1,042.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Earlville's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Earlville can differ from the 52041 normal.