Columbia, MO 65212 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Columbia, MO?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/05, about 220 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/31, about 207 frost-free days later.
Columbia sits in USDA Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Columbia before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/19 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/21 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Columbia compares
About 207 days separate Columbia's last and first frost, putting it 15,784 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MO, it ranks 196 of 1,129.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Columbia can differ from the 65212 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6b and Columbia's frost date answer different questions.