Box Elder, SD 57719 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Box Elder, SD?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/12, about 257 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/01, about 139 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Box Elder in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Box Elder before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Box Elder's last frost
05/12 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/26 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Box Elder compares
Box Elder's growing season runs about 139 days, ranking 37,210 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within SD, it ranks 315 of 378.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Box Elder's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Box Elder's dates instead of trusting one.