Frost dates for Topeka NWS, Kansas
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 16, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 27.
A frost date is really a percentile from 30 years of records at a nearby weather station: in about half of years a frost still comes after the median date. Both numbers are below, so you can choose the risk yourself.
The odds
Last spring frost
How often a frost still comes on or after each date.
- 1 year in 10
- April 27
- 1 year in 5
- April 23
- 3 years in 10
- April 20
- 2 years in 5
- April 18
- Half of years (the median)
- April 16
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 6
- 1 year in 5
- October 13
- 3 years in 10
- October 17
- 2 years in 5
- October 19
- Half of years (the median)
- October 22
- Growing season
- about 189 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 6a, 6b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 31 °C87 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- May to September, in hot, long days (how we know)
Summer and rain
A growing garden needs about 25 mm1 in of water a week, rain and watering together. Here is what a normal month brings.
Month by month
- January
- high ~4 °C40 °F · low ~-7 °C19 °F · rain ~23 mm0.9 in
- February
- high ~7 °C45 °F · low ~-5 °C23 °F · rain ~34 mm1.3 in
- March
- high ~13 °C56 °F · low ~0 °C33 °F · rain ~57 mm2.2 in
- April
- high ~19 °C67 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~98 mm3.9 in
- May
- high ~24 °C76 °F · low ~13 °C55 °F · rain ~135 mm5.3 in
- June
- high ~29 °C85 °F · low ~18 °C64 °F · rain ~128 mm5 in
- July
- high ~31 °C89 °F · low ~20 °C68 °F · rain ~107 mm4.2 in
- August
- high ~31 °C87 °F · low ~19 °C65 °F · rain ~112 mm4.4 in
- September
- high ~27 °C80 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~90 mm3.5 in
- October
- high ~20 °C69 °F · low ~7 °C44 °F · rain ~74 mm2.9 in
- November
- high ~13 °C55 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~51 mm2 in
- December
- high ~6 °C43 °F · low ~-5 °C23 °F · rain ~38 mm1.5 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Topeka NWS station (listed by NOAA as Topeka - NWS, USC00148171), at 39.07, -95.63. These are that station’s own records, unshifted. The further your garden is from it, the less exactly they describe your ground. The planner finds the nearest station to your garden and lowers its confidence with distance, so no number is presented as if it were measured in your garden.
Cold air also pools in low ground on the clear, still nights when frost happens, so a hollow can freeze while a slope a few hundred feet away does not. No table can know that about your garden. A few seasons of your own logged frosts can.
ZIP codes nearest this station
66409, 66418, 66429, 66440, 66509, 66512, 66533, 66539, 66542, 66546, 66603, 66604…
+16 moreShow fewer
66605, 66606, 66607, 66608, 66609, 66610, 66611, 66612, 66614, 66615, 66616, 66617, 66618, 66619, 66621, 66622.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Olathe Johnson County Exec Airport, KS, last frost by April 8
- Kansas City Downtown Airport, MO, last frost by April 4
- Pleasant Hill, MO, last frost by April 8
Other stations in Kansas.
- Wichita Jabara Airport, KS, last frost by April 10
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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