Fort Ripley, MN 56449 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Fort Ripley, MN, ZIP 56449
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/04, roughly 249 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/05, about 151 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fort Ripley in Zone 4a (-30 to -25°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
Zone 4a around Fort Ripley has about 5 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/04 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/22 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Fort Ripley compares
About 151 days separate Fort Ripley's last and first frost, putting it 35,208 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MN, it ranks 510 of 943.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Fort Ripley's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Fort Ripley can differ from the 56449 normal.