Frost dates for Louisville Mcalpine, Kentucky
Half of years have their last spring frost by March 31, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 14.
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 14
- 1 year in 5
- April 8
- 3 years in 10
- April 5
- 2 years in 5
- April 2
- Half of years (the median)
- March 31
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 31
- 1 year in 5
- November 2
- 3 years in 10
- November 5
- 2 years in 5
- November 7
- Half of years (the median)
- November 9
- Growing season
- about 225 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 6b, 7a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 31 °C87 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- May to September, 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 ~6 °C43 °F · low ~-3 °C26 °F · rain ~88 mm3.5 in
- February
- high ~9 °C48 °F · low ~-2 °C29 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
- March
- high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~115 mm4.5 in
- April
- high ~20 °C69 °F · low ~8 °C47 °F · rain ~122 mm4.8 in
- May
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~15 °C58 °F · rain ~122 mm4.8 in
- June
- high ~30 °C85 °F · low ~19 °C66 °F · rain ~112 mm4.4 in
- July
- high ~32 °C89 °F · low ~21 °C70 °F · rain ~90 mm3.5 in
- August
- high ~31 °C88 °F · low ~20 °C69 °F · rain ~83 mm3.3 in
- September
- high ~28 °C82 °F · low ~16 °C62 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- October
- high ~21 °C70 °F · low ~10 °C50 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
- November
- high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~3 °C38 °F · rain ~95 mm3.7 in
- December
- high ~8 °C47 °F · low ~-1 °C31 °F · rain ~114 mm4.5 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Louisville Mcalpine station (listed by NOAA as Louisville Mcalpine, USC00154955), at 38.28, -85.79. 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
40202, 40203, 40208, 40210, 40211, 40212, 40215, 40216, 40258, 47106, 47114, 47119…
+9 moreShow fewer
47122, 47124, 47129, 47130, 47136, 47143, 47150, 47161, 47172.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Cheviot 3 W, OH, last frost by April 16
- Rochester Ferry, KY, last frost by April 15
Other stations in Kentucky.
- Baxter, KY, last frost by April 15
- Prestonsburg 3 WSW, KY, last frost by April 23
- Whitesburg 2 SE, KY, last frost by April 21
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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