Belle Plaine, IA 52208 Frost Dates
Belle Plaine, IA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/28, about 243 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/10, roughly 165 days after the last spring frost.
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 Belle Plaine, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 6 weeks until Belle Plaine's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/28 isn't a guarantee
04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/14 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/11 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Belle Plaine against the rest of the dataset
Belle Plaine's growing season runs about 165 days, ranking 30,598 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 502 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 52208's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Belle Plaine's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Belle Plaine can differ from the 52208 normal.