Rome, IA 52642 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Rome, IA, ZIP 52642
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/30, roughly 245 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/10, about 163 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rome in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Rome has about 6 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/30 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. 05/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Rome compares
At roughly 163 frost-free days, Rome places 31,551 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 686 of 1,042.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Rome's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Rome can differ from the 52642 normal.