Frost dates for Detroit City Airport, Michigan
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 21, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 6.
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
- May 6
- 1 year in 5
- May 1
- 3 years in 10
- April 27
- 2 years in 5
- April 23
- Half of years (the median)
- April 21
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 17
- 1 year in 5
- October 21
- 3 years in 10
- October 24
- 2 years in 5
- October 28
- Half of years (the median)
- October 31
- Growing season
- about 190 days
- Hardiness zone nearby
- 6b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 27 °C81 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- June to August, 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 ~0 °C32 °F · low ~-7 °C20 °F · rain ~37 mm1.4 in
- February
- high ~2 °C35 °F · low ~-6 °C21 °F · rain ~36 mm1.4 in
- March
- high ~7 °C45 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~51 mm2 in
- April
- high ~14 °C58 °F · low ~4 °C39 °F · rain ~72 mm2.8 in
- May
- high ~21 °C69 °F · low ~10 °C50 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
- June
- high ~26 °C79 °F · low ~16 °C60 °F · rain ~79 mm3.1 in
- July
- high ~29 °C83 °F · low ~18 °C65 °F · rain ~82 mm3.2 in
- August
- high ~27 °C81 °F · low ~18 °C64 °F · rain ~79 mm3.1 in
- September
- high ~24 °C74 °F · low ~13 °C56 °F · rain ~78 mm3.1 in
- October
- high ~16 °C61 °F · low ~7 °C45 °F · rain ~58 mm2.3 in
- November
- high ~9 °C48 °F · low ~1 °C34 °F · rain ~55 mm2.2 in
- December
- high ~3 °C37 °F · low ~-3 °C26 °F · rain ~44 mm1.7 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Detroit City Airport station (listed by NOAA as Detroit City Ap, USW00014822), at 42.41, -83.01. 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
48015, 48021, 48030, 48067, 48069, 48070, 48071, 48088, 48089, 48091, 48092, 48093, 48201, 48202, 48203, 48205, 48206, 48207, 48208, 48211, 48212, 48213, 48214, 48216, 48220, 48221, 48226, 48233, 48234, 48237, 48238, 48243, 48310, 48397.
What can I plant here, and when? ›
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, last frost by April 29
- Dearborn, MI, last frost by May 1
- Pontiac Wastewater Treatment Plant, MI, last frost by April 26
- Linden Wastewater Treatment Plant, MI, last frost by May 3
- Toledo Metcalf Field, OH, last frost by April 20
- Jackson Reynolds Field, MI, last frost by May 1
Other stations in Michigan.
- Greenville 2 NNE, MI, last frost by May 18
- Kent City 2 SW, MI, last frost by May 14