Frost dates for Charlotte Douglas Airport, North Carolina
Half of years have their last spring frost by March 30, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 14.
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 14
- 1 year in 5
- April 9
- 3 years in 10
- April 5
- 2 years in 5
- April 2
- Half of years (the median)
- March 30
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 22
- 1 year in 5
- October 27
- 3 years in 10
- October 30
- 2 years in 5
- November 1
- Half of years (the median)
- November 3
- Growing season
- about 221 days
- Hardiness zone nearby
- 8a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 31 °C89 °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 ~11 °C52 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
- February
- high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~2 °C35 °F · rain ~80 mm3.1 in
- March
- high ~18 °C64 °F · low ~5 °C41 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- April
- high ~23 °C73 °F · low ~10 °C49 °F · rain ~98 mm3.8 in
- May
- high ~27 °C80 °F · low ~14 °C58 °F · rain ~85 mm3.4 in
- June
- high ~30 °C87 °F · low ~19 °C66 °F · rain ~101 mm4 in
- July
- high ~32 °C90 °F · low ~21 °C70 °F · rain ~95 mm3.7 in
- August
- high ~31 °C89 °F · low ~20 °C69 °F · rain ~110 mm4.4 in
- September
- high ~28 °C83 °F · low ~17 °C63 °F · rain ~94 mm3.7 in
- October
- high ~23 °C73 °F · low ~10 °C50 °F · rain ~80 mm3.2 in
- November
- high ~17 °C63 °F · low ~4 °C40 °F · rain ~84 mm3.3 in
- December
- high ~13 °C55 °F · low ~1 °C35 °F · rain ~91 mm3.6 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Charlotte Douglas Airport station (listed by NOAA as Charlotte Douglas Ap, USW00013881), at 35.22, -80.96. 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
28012, 28027, 28031, 28075, 28078, 28134, 28202, 28203, 28204, 28205, 28206, 28207…
+23 moreShow fewer
28208, 28209, 28210, 28211, 28212, 28213, 28214, 28215, 28216, 28217, 28226, 28244, 28262, 28269, 28270, 28273, 28277, 28278, 28280, 28282, 29707, 29708, 29715.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Shelby 2 NW, NC, last frost by April 12
- Salisbury 9 WNW, NC, last frost by April 9
- Tryon, NC, last frost by March 27
- Boone 1 SE, NC, last frost by May 2
- Rural Hall, NC, last frost by April 6
- Fountain Inn 2 SW, SC, last frost by March 29
Other stations in North Carolina.
- Raleigh State Univ, NC, last frost by March 28
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
More ways Milpa can help
When do I plant? · What grows well together? · Plan my garden · What can I plant now? · Something wrong in the garden? · Keep a garden diary · Heard a tip?