Ruskin, NE 68974 Frost Dates
68974, near Ruskin, NE: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/29, about 244 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/10, roughly 162 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ruskin in Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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
Ruskin'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
04/29 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/15 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/10 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Ruskin against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 162 frost-free days, Ruskin places 31,893 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NE, it ranks 365 of 605.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 68974: local microclimates, on what one yard in Ruskin can differ from the 68974 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 6a and Ruskin's frost date answer different questions.