Yale, SD 57322 Frost Dates
Yale, SD: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/06, roughly 251 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/02, roughly 146 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Yale 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
With roughly 5 weeks until Yale's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/23 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/20 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Yale against the rest of the dataset
Yale's growing season runs about 146 days, ranking 36,141 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within SD, it ranks 223 of 378.
Learn more
Before leaning on 57322's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 4b and Yale's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Yale's dates instead of trusting one.