Brainard, NE 68626 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Brainard, NE?
Around 04/26 is the usual last spring frost, about 241 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/11, about 168 frost-free days later.
Brainard sits in USDA Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 6 weeks of growing season left in Brainard before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Brainard's last frost
04/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/12 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Brainard compares
About 168 days separate Brainard's last and first frost, putting it 29,778 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NE, it ranks 264 of 605.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Brainard's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Brainard's dates instead of trusting one.