Winnebago, NE 68071 Frost Dates
68071, near Winnebago, NE: the frost window
Around 05/01 is the usual last spring frost, about 246 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/06, roughly 156 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Winnebago in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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
Winnebago's growing season runs out in roughly 6 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/18 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/15 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Winnebago against the rest of the dataset
Winnebago's growing season runs about 156 days, ranking 33,740 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NE, it ranks 455 of 605.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 68071: local microclimates, on what one yard in Winnebago can differ from the 68071 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5a and Winnebago's frost date answer different questions.