PlantingWindowThe American Planting Almanac

Minneapolis, Minnesota: freeze dates & growing season

Three different things get called “Minneapolis” here, so this page is explicit about all three: the metro label (Minneapolis), the anchor geography (Census ZCTA 55401, a downtown ZIP-code area), and the climate record (the NOAA station below). Windows are calculated from the station — not from your street address.

Climate basis: NOAA station Lower St Anthony Falls, MN (USC00214884), 1 mi (2 km) from the ZCTA 55401 centroid, elevation 754 ft, on the 1991–2020 climate normals.
Last spring freezeApril 231-in-10 after May 7
First fall freezeOctober 161-in-10 before Oct 2
Frost-free season≈ 175 daysmedian at 32°F
Hard freeze, 28°Apr 14 – Oct 27kills even hardy greens
USDA zone5a-20 to -15°F winter low — not frost timing

The year

  • indoors under lights
  • in the garden
  • frost-free season
  • 1-in-10 years still freeze to May 7
The Minneapolis year: hatched areas are the freeze-likely seasons in 1991–2020 normals.
What that means in practice
All 79 crops in Minneapolis

These windows describe typical years (1991–2020 climate normals), not this year's forecast. Freezes happen outside them — especially in frost pockets, valleys, and urban edges. Watch the forecast before committing tender plants.

Check a specific ZIP instead

Metro climates vary — elevation, water, and urban heat shift freeze dates by days to weeks. Look up your exact ZIP:

Nearby reviewed metros

Sioux Falls, SD · Fargo, ND · Madison, WI · Des Moines, IA · Omaha, NE