FrostDateCheck

Ekalaka, MT 59319 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Ekalaka, MT?

Zone 4b

Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/17, roughly 262 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/22, about 127 frost-free days later.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ekalaka in Zone 4b (-25 to -20°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 4 weeks of growing season left in Ekalaka before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

The actual range around Ekalaka's last frost

05/17 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/05 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Ekalaka compares

At roughly 127 frost-free days, Ekalaka places 38,655 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MT, it ranks 154 of 392.

Learn more

the frost range covers how to read the range around Ekalaka's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Ekalaka can differ from the 59319 normal.