Emerson, NE 68733 Frost Dates
68733, near Emerson, NE: the frost window
Around 05/05 is the usual last spring frost, about 250 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/01, roughly 148 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Emerson 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
Emerson's growing season runs out in roughly 5 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 05/05 isn't a guarantee
05/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/24 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/18 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Emerson against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 148 frost-free days, Emerson places 35,762 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NE, it ranks 539 of 605.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 68733: the frost range, on how to read the range around Emerson's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates, on what one yard in Emerson can differ from the 68733 normal.