Tama, IA 52339 Frost Dates
Tama, IA: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/30, roughly 245 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/09, roughly 162 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tama in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 6 weeks until Tama's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/30 isn't a guarantee
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/15 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.
Tama against the rest of the dataset
Tama's growing season runs about 162 days, ranking 31,738 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 693 of 1,042.
Learn more
Before leaning on 52339's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Tama's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Tama's dates instead of trusting one.