Fairfax, SD 57335 Frost Dates
57335, near Fairfax, SD: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/27, about 242 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/13, roughly 168 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Fairfax in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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
Fairfax's growing season runs out in roughly 7 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/14 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/11 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Fairfax against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 168 frost-free days, Fairfax places 29,811 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within SD, it ranks 2 of 378.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 57335: local microclimates, on what one yard in Fairfax can differ from the 57335 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5a and Fairfax's frost date answer different questions.