Wausau, WI 54401 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Wausau, WI?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/06, roughly 251 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/04, about 150 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 Wausau, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Wausau before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Wausau's last frost
05/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/24 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/21 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Wausau compares
Wausau's growing season runs about 150 days, ranking 35,242 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within WI, it ranks 556 of 860.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Wausau can differ from the 54401 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4b and Wausau's frost date answer different questions.