Frost dates in St. Paul, Minnesota
NOAA 1991–2020 normals for a 32 °F freeze. Low spots and the edge of town run colder than downtown.
Short answer
The average last spring frost in St. Paul is April 24, and the average first fall frost is October 16, from NOAA's St Paul Downtown Airport station, 3 miles from the middle of St. Paul. 1 year in 10 the last frost comes after May 10, and the first one by October 2. That leaves about 175 frost-free days. St. Paul is in USDA planting zone 5a.
Weather stations around St. Paul
The first row is the date most people in St. Paul go by. The others show how far the dates move across the area.
| Station | Last spring frost | First fall frost | Frost-free |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Paul Downtown Airport 3 mi away, 700 ft | April 24 1 in 10 after May 10 | October 16 1 in 10 by October 2 | 175 days |
| St Paul 3SW 3 mi away, 925 ft | April 25 1 in 10 after May 9 | October 12 1 in 10 by October 1 | 170 days |
| St Paul 4 mi away, 900 ft | April 26 1 in 10 after May 11 | October 12 1 in 10 by September 27 | 169 days |
| U Of Mn St Paul 5 mi away, 970 ft | April 28 1 in 10 after May 14 | October 8 1 in 10 by September 25 | 163 days |
| Vadnais Lake 7 mi away, 890 ft | April 23 1 in 10 after May 7 | October 20 1 in 10 by October 3 | 180 days |
Distances are from the middle of St. Paul as the Census Bureau maps it. The average date is NOAA's 50% date: half of years have a later last frost, or an earlier first one. Plan by the 1-in-10 date if a freeze would cost you plants. The planting zone is the USDA 2023 zone for ZIP code 55101, at the middle of the city.
Your exact ZIP code
St. Paul covers a lot of ground. For the station nearest your own street, and its planting zone, type your ZIP code.
How these dates work
Frost dates come from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 Climate Normals, which work out from each weather station's daily lows how likely the last spring freeze and the first fall freeze (32 °F) are by each date. We use the station nearest the middle of your ZIP code and show its height and distance, since a station on a hill or by a lake can differ from your yard.
The average date is the 50% date: half of years have a freeze after the spring date or before the fall one. The 1-in-10 dates are NOAA's 10% dates, the ones to plan by if a late freeze would cost you plants. Within one yard, cold air pools in low spots while walls and paving hold heat, so some corners freeze before others.
More frost dates
All of Minnesota, station by station.
Other Minnesota cities: Minneapolis
Nearby: Sioux Falls, SD · Madison, WI · Des Moines, IA
Where the numbers come from
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University (zone data)
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, annual/seasonal
- NOAA, Normals calculation methodology (frost-freeze probability dates)
- US Census Bureau, 2025 ZCTA gazetteer (ZIP code centers)
- US Census Bureau, 2025 city population estimates and place gazetteer