Ponca City, OK 74604 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Ponca City, OK, ZIP 74604
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/10, roughly 225 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/27, about 200 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ponca City in Zone 7a (0 to 5°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7a around Ponca City has about 9 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
04/10 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/27 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Ponca City compares
Ponca City's growing season runs about 200 days, ranking 17,727 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within OK, it ranks 668 of 764.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Ponca City can differ from the 74604 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Ponca City's frost date answer different questions.