Frost dates for Lenox Dale, Massachusetts
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 13
- 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 21
- 1 year in 5
- September 25
- 3 years in 10
- September 29
- 2 years in 5
- October 1
- Half of years (the median)
- October 3
- Growing season
- about 147 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 ~90 mm3.5 in
- February
- high ~2 °C35 °F · low ~-10 °C13 °F · rain ~78 mm3.1 in
- March
- high ~6 °C43 °F · low ~-6 °C21 °F · rain ~94 mm3.7 in
- April
- high ~13 °C56 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~95 mm3.7 in
- May
- high ~20 °C69 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~105 mm4.1 in
- June
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~11 °C52 °F · rain ~122 mm4.8 in
- July
- high ~28 °C82 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~115 mm4.5 in
- August
- high ~27 °C81 °F · low ~13 °C55 °F · rain ~107 mm4.2 in
- September
- high ~22 °C72 °F · low ~9 °C47 °F · rain ~114 mm4.5 in
- October
- high ~15 °C59 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~121 mm4.7 in
- November
- high ~8 °C47 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~92 mm3.6 in
- December
- high ~2 °C36 °F · low ~-7 °C19 °F · rain ~114 mm4.5 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Lenox Dale station (listed by NOAA as Lenox Dale, USC00194131), at 42.34, -73.25. 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
01011, 01098, 01201, 01222, 01223, 01224, 01225, 01226, 01229, 01230, 01235, 01236…
+25 moreShow fewer
01237, 01238, 01240, 01242, 01243, 01244, 01245, 01253, 01254, 01257, 01258, 01259, 01260, 01262, 01264, 01266, 12017, 12024, 12029, 12060, 12062, 12125, 12165, 12168, 12195.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Hudson Correctional Facility, NY, last frost by April 25
- Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA, last frost by May 3
- Rowe 3 NE, MA, last frost by May 14
- Bakersville, CT, last frost by May 8
- Albany Airport, NY, last frost by April 27
- Millbrook 3 W, NY, last frost by May 4
Other stations in Massachusetts.
- Belchertown, MA, last frost by May 3
- Tully Lake, MA, last frost by April 25
- Worcester Regional Airport, MA, last frost by April 23
- West Medway, MA, last frost by April 30
- Jamaica Plain, MA, last frost by April 19
- Lawrence, MA, last frost by April 13
- Hingham, MA, last frost by April 25
- Beverly, MA, last frost by May 4
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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