Lancaster, KS 66041 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Lancaster, KS?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/18, about 233 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/17, about 180 frost-free days later.
Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Lancaster, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 7 weeks of growing season left in Lancaster before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/18 isn't a guarantee
04/18 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/03 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/02 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Lancaster compares
At roughly 180 frost-free days, Lancaster places 25,057 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within KS, it ranks 530 of 745.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Lancaster's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Lancaster's dates instead of trusting one.