FrostDateCheck

Dunnell, MN 56127 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Dunnell, MN?

Zone 5a

The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/28, about 243 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/08, about 162 frost-free days later.

Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Dunnell, not a forecast for this year.

What to do before the first frost

About 6 weeks of growing season left in Dunnell before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

The actual range around Dunnell's last frost

04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/13 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Dunnell compares

About 162 days separate Dunnell's last and first frost, putting it 31,890 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MN, it ranks 192 of 943.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Dunnell can differ from the 56127 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Dunnell's frost date answer different questions.