Brookings, SD 57007 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Brookings, SD?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/06, about 251 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/01, about 145 frost-free days later.
Brookings sits in USDA Zone 4b (-25 to -20°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Brookings before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 05/06 isn't a guarantee
05/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Brookings compares
About 145 days separate Brookings's last and first frost, putting it 36,163 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within SD, it ranks 229 of 378.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Brookings can differ from the 57007 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4b and Brookings's frost date answer different questions.