Centralia, IA 52099 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Centralia, IA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/28, about 243 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/11, about 165 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 Centralia, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Centralia before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Centralia's last frost
04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/13 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 Centralia compares
At roughly 165 frost-free days, Centralia places 30,778 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 564 of 1,042.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Centralia can differ from the 52099 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Centralia's frost date answer different questions.