Rochester, MN 55903 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Rochester, MN?
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/06, about 159 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rochester in Zone 4b (-25 to -20°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Rochester before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Rochester's last frost
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/15 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/13 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Rochester compares
About 159 days separate Rochester's last and first frost, putting it 32,567 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MN, it ranks 237 of 943.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Rochester can differ from the 55903 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4b and Rochester's frost date answer different questions.