Hiawatha, IA 52411 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Hiawatha, IA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/28, roughly 243 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/12, about 166 frost-free days later.
Hiawatha 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
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Hiawatha before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Hiawatha's last frost
04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/14 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/13 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Hiawatha compares
Hiawatha's growing season runs about 166 days, ranking 30,355 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IA, it ranks 453 of 1,042.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Hiawatha's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Hiawatha can differ from the 52411 normal.