Waterford, WI 53185 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Waterford, WI?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/05, about 250 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/10, about 156 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Waterford 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
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Waterford before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 05/05 isn't a guarantee
05/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/23 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/23 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Waterford compares
At roughly 156 frost-free days, Waterford places 33,569 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within WI, it ranks 414 of 860.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Waterford's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Waterford's dates instead of trusting one.