Columbus, NE 68601 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Columbus, NE, ZIP 68601
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/21, roughly 236 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/15, about 174 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Columbus, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Columbus has about 7 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
04/21 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/07 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/05 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Columbus compares
About 174 days separate Columbus's last and first frost, putting it 27,350 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NE, it ranks 127 of 605.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Columbus can differ from the 68601 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Columbus's frost date answer different questions.