Buffalo Gap, SD 57722 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Buffalo Gap, SD, ZIP 57722
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/07, roughly 252 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/04, about 149 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Buffalo Gap 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
Zone 5a around Buffalo Gap has about 5 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
The actual range around Buffalo Gap's last frost
05/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/24 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/21 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Buffalo Gap compares
About 149 days separate Buffalo Gap's last and first frost, putting it 35,587 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within SD, it ranks 186 of 378.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Buffalo Gap can differ from the 57722 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Buffalo Gap's frost date answer different questions.