Waterloo, NE 68022 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Waterloo, NE?
Around 04/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 230 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/21, about 187 frost-free days later.
Waterloo 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
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Waterloo before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Waterloo's last frost
04/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/02 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/29 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Waterloo compares
Waterloo's growing season runs about 187 days, ranking 22,499 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NE, it ranks 3 of 605.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Waterloo's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Waterloo's dates instead of trusting one.