Kennebec, SD 57544 Frost Dates
Kennebec, SD: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/12, roughly 257 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 09/28, roughly 137 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Kennebec 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
With roughly 4 weeks until Kennebec'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
05/12 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/29 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/26 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Kennebec against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 137 frost-free days, Kennebec places 37,582 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within SD, it ranks 344 of 378.
Learn more
Before leaning on 57544's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Kennebec's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Kennebec can differ from the 57544 normal.