Oconto, NE 68860 Frost Dates
68860, near Oconto, NE: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/10, about 255 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/01, roughly 145 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Oconto 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
Oconto'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 05/10 isn't a guarantee
05/10 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/27 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/22 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Oconto against the rest of the dataset
Oconto's growing season runs about 145 days, ranking 36,299 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NE, it ranks 556 of 605.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 68860: local microclimates, on what one yard in Oconto can differ from the 68860 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5a and Oconto's frost date answer different questions.