River Falls, WI 54022 Frost Dates
When can you plant in River Falls, WI?
Around 05/11 is the usual last spring frost, about 256 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/01, about 143 frost-free days later.
Zone 4b (-25 to -20°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for River Falls, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in River Falls before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/26 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/26 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How River Falls compares
At roughly 143 frost-free days, River Falls places 36,493 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within WI, it ranks 684 of 860.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4b and River Falls's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around River Falls's dates instead of trusting one.