Minneapolis, MN Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

The last spring frost in Minneapolis, MN comes on April 23 in a typical year, and the first fall frost follows on October 16, leaving a frost-free season of 175 days.

Put May 7 and October 2 on the calendar as well. A spring freeze after the first of them, or a fall freeze before the second, happens in only one year out of ten, so those dates cover nine years in ten. The median season across the 100 cities on these pages is 229 days; Minneapolis comes up 54 days short of it, 90th on the list.

These dates come from the NOAA weather station Lower St Anthony Falls (ID USC00214884), 1.5 miles north-east of the Census Bureau's internal point for Minneapolis, at about 750 feet above sea level.

Last spring frost in Minneapolis

NOAA gives April 10 as the date a spring freeze is still ahead in nine years out of ten, April 23 as the date it is still ahead in half of them, and May 7 as the date only one year in ten passes.

From the 90% date to the 10% date is 27 days, a short span next to most cities here, which makes the spring calendar in Minneapolis steadier than average.

First fall frost in Minneapolis

Expect the first freeze of fall by October 16 in a typical year. One year in ten brings it by October 2, and nine in ten have had it by October 30.

The early and late fall dates are only 28 days apart, a narrow band next to most cities here, so the first freeze keeps close to its schedule in Minneapolis.

The growing season in Minneapolis

A little less room than the middle of these pages, so count the days before you choose a variety. Seasons here barely vary: the typical year gives 175 days and a short one still gives 155 days, only 20 days less, a steadier record than most cities on these pages.

The season lengths come from NOAA's simulated years, not from subtracting one typical date from the other, so the two will not match to the day. At Lower St Anthony Falls a night at or below 32°F turns up in 100% of years, which means these dates apply every winter.

Hard freeze dates for Minneapolis

The two freezes sit close together here. The typical hard freeze reaches Minneapolis on October 27, 11 days after the first frost, and ends on April 14, 9 days ahead of the last. At the edges, a 28°F night on or after April 27 happens one spring in ten and one by October 12 one fall in ten; the nine-in-ten dates are April 2 and November 9.

Planting dates for Minneapolis, counted from the frost dates

Counting from April 23, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on March 26 and lettuce from March 26 to April 2, ahead of the last frost, and holds peppers until May 7 and beans until April 23 or later. The University of New Hampshire Extension sheet gives peas no frost count at all; sow them as soon as the soil thaws.

Counting from the late date, May 7, instead of the typical one delays every after-frost crop by 14 days. That is the price of a one-in-ten spring that most years will not need.

Of the 34 crops in the fall planner, 25 still have a July-or-later last planting day in Minneapolis once NC State Extension's days to harvest and University of Georgia Extension's harvest allowance of 18 days are counted back from frost. The other 9 do not. The slowest crop that still fits is cabbage, which needs 93 days before the early first frost and so must be in by July 1.

Worked example: a tomato plan for Minneapolis

Suppose you want tomatoes in Minneapolis. University of New Hampshire Extension says to set transplants out one to two weeks after the last frost. Counting from the typical date, April 23, the window runs from April 30 to May 7. Counting from the late date, May 7, it moves to May 14 through May 21, which is 14 days later.

To have transplants ready on the first day of the late window, sow seeds six to eight weeks earlier, between March 19 and April 2.

That leaves 134 days against 75 to 85 days for the plants to reach harvest, so even the late schedule fits in an early-frost year with 49 days to spare.

About the Lower St Anthony Falls station

The station is 1.5 miles north-east of the Census Bureau's internal point for Minneapolis, close enough that its record is the natural reference for the city.

NOAA lists it at about 750 feet, higher than 60 and lower than 39 of the 100 stations in this set. NOAA flags this station's record as standard, the code S, for the data behind its 50% last-frost value.

The Census Gazetteer gives no elevation for Minneapolis itself, so this page cannot tell you whether your garden sits above or below the station. If it is noticeably higher or lower, compare the stations the frost dates tool lists nearby and lean toward the colder reading.

How Minneapolis's frost dates compare

St. Paul, MN is only 8.1 miles away and shares the region, while the other two cities below are farther out and show how the dates change with distance.

• St. Paul, MN (8.1 miles, east): its last frost falls within a few days of Minneapolis's, and the season is within about a week of Minneapolis's. Its typical dates are April 24 and October 16, with 174 days frost-free.
• Sioux Falls, SD, 198 miles to the south-west: last frost May 1, first frost October 6, 157 days frost-free; the last frost is 8 days later than in Minneapolis, and the season runs 18 days shorter.
• Madison, WI (231 miles, south-east): its last frost comes 8 days after Minneapolis's, and the frost-free season is 14 days shorter than Minneapolis's. Its typical dates are May 1 and October 9, with 161 days frost-free.

Put the frost dates to work

Start with the spring planting planner for the whole crop list counted from these dates, and the fall planting planner for the last planting days. The frost dates tool shows every level of risk at this station, and the hardiness zone lookup covers winter survival for shrubs and perennials.

All the cities on these pages are listed by state on the city frost dates index.

Where these numbers come from

Every frost and freeze date comes from the station's entry in NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11), with no adjustment, and NOAA's documentation explains what each probability means. Minneapolis and its internal point are listed in the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer of places; its place in the ranking comes from the Vintage 2024 population estimates, which count 428,579 residents.

University of New Hampshire Extension, NC State Extension and University of Georgia Extension supply the planting rules; this page only counts them from the station's dates. The methodology page explains how each figure is checked.

NOAA's dates say how often frost has come, not when it will. Check the forecast before planting and keep a cover on hand.