Minneapolis, MN 55407 Frost Dates
55407, near Minneapolis, MN: the frost window
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/23, roughly 238 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/16, roughly 175 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Minneapolis in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Minneapolis's growing season runs out in roughly 7 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/23 isn't a guarantee
04/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/10 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/07 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Minneapolis against the rest of the dataset
Minneapolis's growing season runs about 175 days, ranking 26,696 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MN, it ranks 50 of 943.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 55407: local microclimates, on what one yard in Minneapolis can differ from the 55407 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5a and Minneapolis's frost date answer different questions.