Buffalo Gap, SD 57766 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Buffalo Gap, SD, ZIP 57766
Around 05/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 260 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/29, about 133 frost-free days later.
Buffalo Gap sits in USDA Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/04 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/30 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Buffalo Gap compares
About 133 days separate Buffalo Gap's last and first frost, putting it 38,142 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within SD, it ranks 361 of 378.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Buffalo Gap's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Buffalo Gap can differ from the 57766 normal.