Lansing, IA 52151 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Lansing, IA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/02, about 247 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/11, about 161 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 Lansing, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Lansing before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Lansing's last frost
05/02 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. 05/16 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Lansing compares
About 161 days separate Lansing's last and first frost, putting it 32,098 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IA, it ranks 749 of 1,042.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Lansing's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Lansing can differ from the 52151 normal.