Frost Dates by ZIP Code

Your average last spring frost and first fall frost by ZIP code, from NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals at the nearest weather station, with safer 10% dates.

Find your frost dates

01Enter your ZIP code.
02Read the last spring frost and first fall frost at the nearest NOAA weather station, typical (50%) and safer (10%).
03Check the station's distance and elevation: if you're much higher, lower or farther away, choose another nearby station.
04Open the planner to date every crop in your garden from these frosts.

What a frost date means

A last-frost date is a probability, not a promise. NOAA's normals give, for each station, the date in spring after which a freeze (32 °F) still has a given chance of happening, and the date in fall before which one has that chance [1]. At the typical 50% date, half of years have a later spring frost. At the 10% date, one year in ten does.

Gardeners usually set out tender crops like tomatoes, peppers and squash a week or two after the typical last-frost date, and plan around the safer date where late frosts are common.

Why your garden may differ

Low spots and valleys collect cold air: they frost later in spring and earlier in fall.
Cities, and slopes near large lakes or the sea, stay warmer than the open country around them.
A station hundreds of feet higher or lower than you can be a week or more off. The page shows each station's elevation and distance so you can pick the closest match.

Plan your beds with these dates

Draw your beds, tap squares to plant them, and get every crop's dates for your ZIP code in one calendar. Free, in your browser.

Open the garden planner

Questions

What's the last frost date for my area?

Enter your ZIP code above. The dates come from the nearest of about 7,000 NOAA weather stations with freeze records; half of all ZIP codes have one within about 7 miles.

Is the first frost date the same as the first freeze?

Here they're the same thing: the first night at or below 32 °F. Tender plants are damaged at that temperature; hardy ones like kale and spinach shrug it off.

Why doesn't my ZIP code have frost dates?

Some places freeze too rarely for NOAA to compute a date (south Florida, parts of coastal California, Hawaii), and at some mountain stations a freeze is possible in any month. There the planner asks for your own dates instead.

More garden planning

Vegetable Planting CalendarWhen to plant vegetables where you live: start-indoors, transplant and sowing dates for every common crop, from your ZIP code's frost dates.Raised Bed PlannerPlan your raised beds square by square: how many plants fit in a 4×8 or 4×4 bed, and when to plant each one for your ZIP code. Free, in your browser.Succession PlantingPlan succession sowings of lettuce, radishes, beans and more: how often to sow, the last date that still ripens before frost, and dates for each sowing.