Madison, WI 53706 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Madison, WI, ZIP 53706
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/01, about 246 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/09, about 161 frost-free days later.
Madison 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
Zone 5a around Madison 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.
Why 05/01 isn't a guarantee
05/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/18 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/17 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Madison compares
About 161 days separate Madison's last and first frost, putting it 31,909 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within WI, it ranks 291 of 860.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Madison's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Madison's dates instead of trusting one.