Eldon, MO 65026 Frost Dates
65026, near Eldon, MO: the frost window
Around 04/07 is the usual last spring frost, about 222 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/01, roughly 208 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Eldon in Zone 6b (-5 to 0°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Eldon's growing season runs out in roughly 9 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/07 isn't a guarantee
04/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/22 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/27 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Eldon against the rest of the dataset
Eldon's growing season runs about 208 days, ranking 15,584 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MO, it ranks 184 of 1,129.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 65026: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 6b and Eldon's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Eldon's dates instead of trusting one.