Frost dates in Nebraska

Across Nebraska's 184 NOAA stations with a frost every year, the typical last spring frost ranges from April 15 at Valley NWS (1,150 feet above sea level) to May 30 at Agate 3 E (4,670 feet above sea level). The middle station's date is May 2.

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Last frost across Nebraska

The frost-free season runs from 103 days at Agate 3 E to 187 days at Valley NWS.

The station with the latest frost sits about 3,500 feet higher 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 Nebraska's larger places

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 Nebraska

Nebraska's 609 ZIP codes in the USDA list fall in zones 5a to 6a: 5a (18 percent), 5b (48 percent) and 6a (34 percent). Compared with the 2012 map, 56 percent of them moved to a warmer half zone and 44 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 Nebraska

All 184 stations in Nebraska 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.

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.