Type your ZIP code to see when freezes typically end in spring and begin in fall where you garden. The dates come from official NOAA weather records for the nearest weather station, and they come with risk levels, so you can choose how careful to be.
How to read your frost dates
Most websites give you one “average” frost date. The trouble is that an average is a coin flip: in about half of all years, the last freeze of spring comes later than it. If you plant tomatoes on that date, you could lose them one year in two.
NOAA’s records let us do better. For each weather station they give the date by which a given share of years have already had their last (or first) freeze. This tool shows three of those dates:
- Cautious: only about 1 year in 10 has a freeze after this spring date, or before this fall date. Use it for tender plants you do not want to risk.
- Average: the middle date, where half of the years are earlier and half are later.
- Optimistic: a gamble. In about 9 years out of 10, a freeze comes later in spring, or earlier in fall, than this date.
What a freeze date means
The main table uses 32°F, the point where water freezes and many tender plants are damaged. Below it, you also see 36°F, when light frost can already form on clear, still nights, and 28°F, a hard freeze that kills most unprotected garden vegetables.
Using your dates
- Use the planting guide under the table for when hardy, semi-hardy and tender crops can go in.
- Open one of the linked tools, which start with your dates already filled in. The safe transplant date calculator, the succession planting planner and the latest planting date calculator all use them.
- Work backward to start seeds indoors with the seed starting calculator.
- Protect early plantings with row cover. The row cover fabric calculator works out how much you need.
How the nearest station is chosen
The tool finds the center of your ZIP code area, then picks the closest weather station with freeze records in the 1991 to 2020 normals. It also lists the next two nearest stations, because the closest one is not always the best match. A station in a valley, near a lake or in a city can have different frost timing from a hillside garden a few miles away. Elevation is shown so you can compare.
Limits to keep in mind
- The numbers describe the past 30 years. Individual years vary a lot, so watch your local forecast.
- Your own yard can be warmer or colder than the station. Low spots collect cold air, and walls, pavement and slopes change it.
- Some places rarely freeze. If the station is far away, local conditions may differ a lot.
- These are planning estimates. Your Cooperative Extension office knows your area best.
Frequently asked questions
What is my last frost date?
Enter your ZIP code above. The average date is the middle of the range, and the cautious date is the safer choice for tender plants.
Why do other websites show different dates?
They may use a different weather station, a different set of years or a different temperature, so dates can differ by a week or more. This tool shows the station it used so you can judge for yourself.
When can I plant tomatoes?
After the last freeze and once nights and soil have warmed. The safest choice is to wait until the cautious date, or to protect plants on cold nights.
What is the difference between frost and a freeze?
Frost is ice that forms on surfaces when temperatures drop near freezing. A freeze is when the air temperature itself falls to 32°F or below. Either can damage tender plants.
Where does the data come from?
From NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, in its U.S. Climate Normals for 1991 to 2020. ZIP code locations come from the U.S. Census Bureau.