Kansas City, KS 66117 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Kansas City, KS, ZIP 66117
Around 04/16 is the usual last spring frost, about 231 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/22, about 188 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 Kansas City, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6b around Kansas City has about 8 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Kansas City compares
Kansas City's growing season runs about 188 days, ranking 21,790 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within KS, it ranks 346 of 745.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Kansas City can differ from the 66117 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6b and Kansas City's frost date answer different questions.