Wells, MN 56097 Frost Dates
56097, near Wells, MN: the frost window
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/06, roughly 158 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wells in Zone 4b (-25 to -20°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
Wells's growing season runs out in roughly 6 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/30 isn't a guarantee
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/16 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/14 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Wells against the rest of the dataset
Wells's growing season runs about 158 days, ranking 32,993 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MN, it ranks 285 of 943.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 56097: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 4b and Wells's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Wells's dates instead of trusting one.