Frost dates in Indiana
Across Indiana's 117 NOAA stations with a frost every year, the typical last spring frost ranges from March 29 at Evansville Museum (370 feet above sea level) to May 2 at Garrett 1 S (870 feet above sea level). The middle station's date is April 21.
Look up your ZIP code
Last frost across Indiana
The frost-free season runs from 159 days at Garrett 1 S to 225 days at Evansville Museum.
The station with the latest frost is about 230 miles farther north than the one with the earliest.
These are typical dates: in half of springs the last frost comes later. Each place's page, and each ZIP code lookup, also gives the late-year date, after which only 1 spring in 10 has a frost. That's the safer date for tender plants.
Frost dates for Indiana's larger places
| Place | Last spring frost | First fall frost | Season | Zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evansville | April 4 | October 29 | 206 days | 7a |
| Fort Wayne | April 24 | October 21 | 178 days | 6a |
| Indianapolis | April 15 | October 26 | 193 days | 6b |
Typical (1-in-2) dates. Each place's page has the early and late years, a planting calendar and a printable planner. Zones are for the ZIP code nearest each place's center.
Hardiness zones in Indiana
Indiana's 929 ZIP codes in the USDA list fall in zones 5b to 7a: 5b (5 percent), 6a (61 percent), 6b (24 percent) and 7a (10 percent). Compared with the 2012 map, 67 percent of them moved to a warmer half zone (3 by a full zone or more) and 33 percent stayed the same.
A hardiness zone is about the coldest night of winter, which decides which shrubs, trees and perennials survive. Frost dates are about spring and fall, which decide when to plant. You need both. Read more about what the zones mean and what changed in 2023.
Every NOAA station in Indiana
All 117 stations in Indiana with frost statistics in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, from A to Z. Station names are usually a town, an airport, or a distance and direction from a town. Find one near you and at a similar elevation.
| Station | Elevation (feet) | Last spring frost | First fall frost | Season (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Sewage Plant | 840 | April 19 | October 23 | 186 |
| Angola | 1,020 | April 30 | October 16 | 167 |
| Attica 2 E | 730 | April 22 | October 17 | 176 |
| Bedford 5 WNW | 760 | April 10 | October 30 | 201 |
| Berne WWTP | 840 | April 23 | October 22 | 181 |
| Bloomington Indiana Univ | 830 | April 15 | October 26 | 192 |
| Bloomington Monroe Co Airport | 840 | April 17 | October 22 | 185 |
| Bluffton 6 N | 860 | April 24 | October 20 | 179 |
| Boonville 1 S | 400 | April 12 | October 25 | 196 |
| Boswell 4 WNW | 770 | April 25 | October 13 | 169 |
| Brookville | 630 | April 20 | October 21 | 182 |
| Cambridge City 3 N | 1,000 | April 27 | October 9 | 164 |
| Cannelton | 400 | April 2 | November 7 | 218 |
| Carmel 3 E | 750 | April 21 | October 21 | 183 |
| Castleton 2 S | 820 | April 18 | October 26 | 190 |
| Chalmers 5 W | 720 | April 25 | October 17 | 173 |
| Columbia City | 830 | April 27 | October 17 | 171 |
| Columbus | 610 | April 11 | October 25 | 195 |
| Crane Nsa | 730 | April 9 | October 31 | 202 |
| Crawfordsville 6 SE | 840 | April 27 | October 12 | 167 |
| Decatur 1 N | 780 | April 23 | October 19 | 178 |
| Delphi 2 N | 560 | April 22 | October 17 | 179 |
| Dubois S in Forage FM | 690 | April 25 | October 15 | 172 |
| Elnora | 480 | April 9 | October 25 | 197 |
| Elwood | 870 | April 24 | October 18 | 175 |
| English | 510 | April 17 | October 19 | 184 |
| Evansville Museum | 370 | March 29 | November 10 | 225 |
| Evansville Regional Airport | 400 | April 4 | October 29 | 206 |
| Farmersburg TV-2 | 550 | April 8 | October 27 | 201 |
| Farmland 5 NNW | 960 | April 25 | October 16 | 173 |
| Fort Wayne International Airport | 790 | April 24 | October 21 | 178 |
| Francesville | 680 | April 26 | October 17 | 173 |
| Frankfort Disposal | 820 | April 21 | October 21 | 181 |
| Franklin WWTP | 720 | April 20 | October 19 | 180 |
| Freelandville | 550 | April 9 | October 30 | 202 |
| Garrett | 880 | April 29 | October 17 | 171 |
| Garrett 1 S | 870 | May 2 | October 10 | 159 |
| Goshen 3 SW | 880 | April 26 | October 21 | 175 |
| Goshen Municipal Airport | 830 | April 28 | October 19 | 171 |
| Greencastle 1 W | 730 | April 27 | October 15 | 169 |
| Greenfield | 870 | April 19 | October 22 | 185 |
| Greensburg | 940 | April 15 | October 26 | 194 |
| Hartford City 4 ESE | 930 | April 22 | October 22 | 181 |
| Huntington | 730 | May 1 | October 14 | 166 |
| Indiana Dunes NL | 680 | April 22 | October 27 | 188 |
| Indianapolis | 790 | April 15 | October 26 | 193 |
| Indianapolis Eagle Creek Airport | 820 | April 12 | October 29 | 198 |
| Indianapolis Nwfo | 790 | April 12 | October 27 | 196 |
| Indianapolis Se Side | 850 | April 20 | October 21 | 183 |
| Jamestown 2 E | 960 | April 23 | October 19 | 178 |
| JT Myers Locks & Dam | 340 | April 5 | October 31 | 209 |
| Kentland | 700 | April 23 | October 14 | 175 |
| Knox WWTP | 690 | April 26 | October 19 | 174 |
| Kokomo 3 WSW | 820 | April 27 | October 18 | 174 |
| Lafayette 8 S | 730 | April 20 | October 20 | 182 |
| Lafayette Purdue Univ Airport | 600 | April 26 | October 18 | 173 |
| Lagrange | 900 | April 26 | October 21 | 176 |
| Lakeville | 840 | May 1 | October 13 | 163 |
| Laporte | 810 | April 19 | October 27 | 191 |
| Logansport Cicott St | 600 | April 20 | October 23 | 185 |
| Lowell | 670 | April 29 | October 16 | 171 |
| Madison Sewage Plant | 460 | April 11 | October 31 | 201 |
| Marion 2 N | 790 | April 26 | October 20 | 175 |
| Martinsville 2 SW | 590 | April 24 | October 15 | 173 |
| Milan 5 NE | 970 | April 30 | October 16 | 168 |
| Mount Vernon | 360 | April 7 | October 28 | 202 |
| Muncie Delaware Co Airport | 940 | April 16 | October 25 | 190 |
| N Manchester WWTP | 760 | April 26 | October 19 | 174 |
| N Vernon 2 ESE | 740 | April 21 | October 21 | 180 |
| New Castle 3 SW | 990 | April 27 | October 17 | 173 |
| Newburgh L&D | 380 | April 3 | November 2 | 214 |
| Northern Indiana WFO | 950 | April 24 | October 24 | 182 |
| Oolitic Purdue Ex FM | 650 | April 20 | October 20 | 181 |
| Paoli | 560 | April 21 | October 18 | 178 |
| Patoka Lake | 560 | April 10 | November 1 | 204 |
| Perrysville 4 WNW | 610 | April 23 | October 14 | 171 |
| Petersburg 61 Bridge | 470 | April 20 | October 22 | 186 |
| Plymouth | 810 | April 25 | October 21 | 178 |
| Portland 1 SW | 910 | April 28 | October 15 | 171 |
| Princeton 1 W | 480 | April 13 | October 25 | 194 |
| Rensselaer | 630 | April 23 | October 18 | 177 |
| Richmond Water Works | 1,000 | April 24 | October 20 | 180 |
| Rochester | 760 | April 23 | October 21 | 180 |
| Rockville | 690 | April 30 | October 12 | 164 |
| Rushville | 950 | April 19 | October 23 | 185 |
| S Bend | 710 | April 23 | October 23 | 181 |
| Saint Meinrad | 510 | April 11 | October 26 | 197 |
| Salem | 780 | April 17 | October 22 | 186 |
| Scottsburg | 570 | April 18 | October 20 | 185 |
| Seymour 2 N | 570 | April 16 | October 21 | 187 |
| Shakamak SP | 550 | April 14 | October 26 | 193 |
| Shelbyville Municipal Airport | 800 | April 14 | October 23 | 191 |
| Shelbyville Sewage Plant | 750 | April 17 | October 22 | 187 |
| Shoals 8 S | 480 | April 15 | October 23 | 189 |
| South Bend Michiana Regional Airport | 770 | May 1 | October 19 | 170 |
| Spencer | 550 | April 20 | October 20 | 180 |
| Stendal | 640 | April 6 | October 30 | 206 |
| Tell City | 390 | April 5 | November 1 | 208 |
| Terre Haute Caa Airport | 570 | April 14 | October 24 | 192 |
| Terre Haute Hulman Regional Airport | 570 | April 16 | October 18 | 183 |
| Terre Haute Indiana State | 510 | April 15 | October 19 | 187 |
| Tipton 5 SW | 890 | April 23 | October 17 | 174 |
| Valparaiso Porter Co Municipal Airport | 770 | April 20 | October 26 | 187 |
| Valparaiso Water Works | 800 | April 22 | October 25 | 185 |
| Vevay | 500 | April 9 | November 1 | 204 |
| Vincennes 5 NE | 450 | April 11 | October 26 | 197 |
| W Lafayette 6 NW | 710 | April 26 | October 12 | 169 |
| Wabash | 670 | April 23 | October 21 | 181 |
| Wanatah 2 WNW | 730 | April 29 | October 13 | 166 |
| Warsaw | 810 | April 28 | October 18 | 170 |
| Washington 1 W | 480 | April 10 | October 25 | 197 |
| Wheatfield | 670 | April 25 | October 17 | 173 |
| Whitestown | 940 | April 21 | October 20 | 180 |
| Winamac 2 SSE | 690 | April 25 | October 18 | 173 |
| Winchester Airport 3 E | 1,110 | April 20 | October 21 | 183 |
| Woodburn 3 N | 710 | April 27 | October 19 | 174 |
| Young America | 770 | April 25 | October 17 | 174 |
Typical (1-in-2) dates at 32°F. For the early and late years, and a planting calendar built from your own dates, look up your ZIP code.