Frost dates for Erie International Airport, Pennsylvania
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 26, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 13.
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 13
- 1 year in 5
- May 6
- 3 years in 10
- May 2
- 2 years in 5
- April 29
- Half of years (the median)
- April 26
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 21
- 1 year in 5
- October 27
- 3 years in 10
- October 30
- 2 years in 5
- November 1
- Half of years (the median)
- November 4
- Growing season
- about 192 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 6a, 6b, 7a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 26 °C79 °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 ~2 °C35 °F · low ~-6 °C21 °F · rain ~87 mm3.4 in
- February
- high ~2 °C36 °F · low ~-6 °C21 °F · rain ~64 mm2.5 in
- March
- high ~7 °C44 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~78 mm3.1 in
- April
- high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~3 °C38 °F · rain ~88 mm3.5 in
- May
- high ~20 °C68 °F · low ~10 °C49 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
- June
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~15 °C59 °F · rain ~94 mm3.7 in
- July
- high ~27 °C81 °F · low ~18 °C64 °F · rain ~85 mm3.3 in
- August
- high ~27 °C80 °F · low ~17 °C63 °F · rain ~85 mm3.4 in
- September
- high ~23 °C74 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~110 mm4.3 in
- October
- high ~17 °C62 °F · low ~8 °C46 °F · rain ~111 mm4.4 in
- November
- high ~10 °C51 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~95 mm3.7 in
- December
- high ~5 °C40 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~106 mm4.2 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Erie International Airport station (listed by NOAA as Erie Intl Ap HCN, USW00014860), at 42.08, -80.18. 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
16412, 16415, 16417, 16421, 16423, 16426, 16501, 16502, 16503, 16504, 16505, 16506…
+7 moreShow fewer
16507, 16508, 16509, 16510, 16511, 16546, 16563.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Franklin, PA, last frost by May 2
- Mercer, PA, last frost by May 15
- Cleveland Burke Airport, OH, last frost by April 8
- Ravenna 2 S, OH, last frost by April 21
- Colden 1 N, NY, last frost by May 7
- Beaver Falls 1 NE, PA, last frost by April 27
Other stations in Pennsylvania.
- Putneyville 2 SE Dam, PA, last frost by May 10
- Schenley Lock, PA, last frost by April 21
- Mckeesport, PA, last frost by May 2
- Prince Gallitzin State Park, PA, last frost by May 10
- Philipsburg 2 S, PA, last frost by May 13
- Washington 3 NE, PA, last frost by April 24
- Charleroi Lock, PA, last frost by April 13
- Johnstown Cambria County Airport, PA, last frost by April 29
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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