Frost dates for Epping, New Hampshire
Half of years have their last spring frost by May 7, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 21.
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 21
- 1 year in 5
- May 17
- 3 years in 10
- May 14
- 2 years in 5
- May 10
- Half of years (the median)
- May 7
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- September 22
- 1 year in 5
- September 26
- 3 years in 10
- September 30
- 2 years in 5
- October 1
- Half of years (the median)
- October 4
- Growing season
- about 148 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 6a, 6b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 26 °C80 °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 °C33 °F · low ~-10 °C14 °F · rain ~80 mm3.1 in
- February
- high ~2 °C35 °F · low ~-9 °C16 °F · rain ~83 mm3.3 in
- March
- high ~7 °C44 °F · low ~-4 °C24 °F · rain ~107 mm4.2 in
- April
- high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~1 °C34 °F · rain ~108 mm4.2 in
- May
- high ~20 °C68 °F · low ~7 °C44 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
- June
- high ~25 °C76 °F · low ~12 °C54 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
- July
- high ~28 °C82 °F · low ~15 °C59 °F · rain ~88 mm3.5 in
- August
- high ~27 °C81 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~90 mm3.5 in
- September
- high ~23 °C73 °F · low ~10 °C50 °F · rain ~101 mm4 in
- October
- high ~16 °C61 °F · low ~4 °C38 °F · rain ~119 mm4.7 in
- November
- high ~9 °C49 °F · low ~-1 °C30 °F · rain ~95 mm3.7 in
- December
- high ~3 °C38 °F · low ~-6 °C21 °F · rain ~109 mm4.3 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Epping station (listed by NOAA as Epping, USC00272800), at 43.03, -71.08. 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
03037, 03042, 03044, 03077, 03261, 03290, 03827, 03833, 03842, 03844, 03856, 03862, 03885.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Lawrence, MA, last frost by April 13
- Beverly, MA, last frost by May 4
- Hopkinton Lake, NH, last frost by May 6
- Greenville 1 NNE, NH, last frost by May 10
- Hollis, ME, last frost by May 14
- Jamaica Plain, MA, last frost by April 19
Other stations in New Hampshire.
- E Sandwich, NH, last frost by May 6
- Newport, NH, last frost by May 14
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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