FrostDateCheck

Ethel, MO 63539 Frost Dates

Frost dates for Ethel, MO, ZIP 63539

Zone 6a

Around 04/08 is the usual last spring frost, about 223 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/28, about 201 frost-free days later.

Ethel sits in USDA Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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 6a around Ethel has about 9 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 Ethel's last frost

04/08 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/23 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/24 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Ethel compares

Ethel's growing season runs about 201 days, ranking 17,700 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MO, it ranks 386 of 1,129.

Learn more

zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Ethel's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Ethel's dates instead of trusting one.