Chancellor, SD 57015 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Chancellor, SD?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/01, about 246 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/06, about 157 frost-free days later.
Chancellor sits in USDA Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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 6 weeks of growing season left in Chancellor before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 05/01 isn't a guarantee
05/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/18 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Chancellor compares
At roughly 157 frost-free days, Chancellor places 33,445 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within SD, it ranks 79 of 378.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Chancellor's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Chancellor's dates instead of trusting one.