Northfield, MN 55057 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Northfield, MN?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/05, about 250 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/05, about 152 frost-free days later.
Northfield sits in USDA Zone 4b (-25 to -20°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
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Northfield 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
05/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/22 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Northfield compares
At roughly 152 frost-free days, Northfield places 34,701 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MN, it ranks 437 of 943.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Northfield can differ from the 55057 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4b and Northfield's frost date answer different questions.