Ripon, WI 54964 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Ripon, WI, ZIP 54964
Around 05/01 is the usual last spring frost, about 246 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/11, about 163 frost-free days later.
Ripon 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 Ripon 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 04/16 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 Ripon compares
About 163 days separate Ripon's last and first frost, putting it 31,361 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within WI, it ranks 223 of 860.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Ripon's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Ripon can differ from the 54964 normal.