Frost dates for Lawrence, Massachusetts
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 13, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 29.
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 29
- 1 year in 5
- April 23
- 3 years in 10
- April 19
- 2 years in 5
- April 17
- Half of years (the median)
- April 13
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 13
- 1 year in 5
- October 18
- 3 years in 10
- October 22
- 2 years in 5
- October 26
- Half of years (the median)
- October 28
- Growing season
- about 198 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 6a, 6b
- 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 ~2 °C35 °F · low ~-7 °C20 °F · rain ~106 mm4.2 in
- February
- high ~3 °C37 °F · low ~-6 °C21 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
- March
- high ~7 °C45 °F · low ~-1 °C30 °F · rain ~119 mm4.7 in
- April
- high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~4 °C40 °F · rain ~105 mm4.1 in
- May
- high ~20 °C68 °F · low ~10 °C50 °F · rain ~97 mm3.8 in
- June
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~15 °C59 °F · rain ~104 mm4.1 in
- July
- high ~28 °C83 °F · low ~18 °C65 °F · rain ~93 mm3.7 in
- August
- high ~27 °C81 °F · low ~18 °C64 °F · rain ~94 mm3.7 in
- September
- high ~23 °C74 °F · low ~14 °C56 °F · rain ~99 mm3.9 in
- October
- high ~17 °C62 °F · low ~7 °C44 °F · rain ~119 mm4.7 in
- November
- high ~10 °C51 °F · low ~2 °C35 °F · rain ~98 mm3.9 in
- December
- high ~5 °C41 °F · low ~-3 °C26 °F · rain ~120 mm4.7 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Lawrence station (listed by NOAA as Lawrence HCN, USC00194105), at 42.70, -71.17. 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
01810, 01840, 01841, 01843, 01844, 01845, 01876, 03079.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Beverly, MA, last frost by May 4
- Epping, NH, last frost by May 7
- Jamaica Plain, MA, last frost by April 19
- Greenville 1 NNE, NH, last frost by May 10
- Hingham, MA, last frost by April 25
- West Medway, MA, last frost by April 30
Other stations in Massachusetts.
- Worcester Regional Airport, MA, last frost by April 23
- Tully Lake, MA, last frost by April 25
- Belchertown, MA, last frost by May 3
- E Wareham, MA, last frost by April 21
- Rowe 3 NE, MA, last frost by May 14
- Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA, last frost by May 3
- Lenox Dale, MA, last frost by May 7
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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