Milpa Gardens
Sign in

Leer en español

Frost dates for Hopkinton Lake, New Hampshire

Half of years have their last spring frost by May 6, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 20.

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 20
1 year in 5
May 16
3 years in 10
May 12
2 years in 5
May 9
Half of years (the median)
May 6

First fall freeze

How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.

1 year in 10
September 20
1 year in 5
September 24
3 years in 10
September 28
2 years in 5
September 30
Half of years (the median)
October 1
Growing season
about 146 days
Hardiness zones nearby
5b, 6a
Summer days
a usual high of about 27 °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 °C32 °F · low ~-11 °C13 °F · rain ~84 mm3.3 in
February
high ~2 °C36 °F · low ~-12 °C11 °F · rain ~78 mm3.1 in
March
high ~6 °C43 °F · low ~-7 °C20 °F · rain ~95 mm3.7 in
April
high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~98 mm3.9 in
May
high ~20 °C69 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~93 mm3.7 in
June
high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~11 °C52 °F · rain ~114 mm4.5 in
July
high ~28 °C83 °F · low ~14 °C58 °F · rain ~109 mm4.3 in
August
high ~27 °C81 °F · low ~13 °C56 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
September
high ~23 °C74 °F · low ~8 °C47 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
October
high ~16 °C60 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~138 mm5.4 in
November
high ~9 °C47 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~98 mm3.9 in
December
high ~3 °C37 °F · low ~-7 °C19 °F · rain ~110 mm4.3 in

Where these numbers come from

NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Hopkinton Lake station (listed by NOAA as Hopkinton Lake, USC00274218), at 43.19, -71.75. 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

03043, 03229, 03242, 03244, 03281, 03440, 03442.

Nearby stations

The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.

What can I plant now? ›

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?

All locations · All plants · Folklore, checked