Frost dates for Plainfield, New Jersey
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 11, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 27.
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 27
- 1 year in 5
- April 21
- 3 years in 10
- April 18
- 2 years in 5
- April 15
- Half of years (the median)
- April 11
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 25
- Half of years (the median)
- October 28
- Growing season
- about 198 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 7a, 7b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 30 °C86 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- June 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 ~5 °C41 °F · low ~-5 °C24 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
- February
- high ~7 °C44 °F · low ~-4 °C26 °F · rain ~80 mm3.1 in
- March
- high ~12 °C53 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~108 mm4.3 in
- April
- high ~19 °C66 °F · low ~5 °C42 °F · rain ~91 mm3.6 in
- May
- high ~24 °C75 °F · low ~11 °C51 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
- June
- high ~29 °C84 °F · low ~16 °C60 °F · rain ~110 mm4.3 in
- July
- high ~31 °C88 °F · low ~19 °C66 °F · rain ~136 mm5.3 in
- August
- high ~30 °C86 °F · low ~18 °C64 °F · rain ~101 mm4 in
- September
- high ~26 °C79 °F · low ~14 °C58 °F · rain ~108 mm4.3 in
- October
- high ~19 °C66 °F · low ~8 °C46 °F · rain ~110 mm4.3 in
- November
- high ~13 °C56 °F · low ~2 °C36 °F · rain ~88 mm3.5 in
- December
- high ~8 °C46 °F · low ~-1 °C29 °F · rain ~106 mm4.2 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Plainfield station (listed by NOAA as Plainfield HCN, USC00287079), at 40.60, -74.40. 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
07001, 07008, 07023, 07027, 07036, 07059, 07060, 07062, 07063, 07064, 07065, 07066, 07067, 07069, 07076, 07077, 07080, 07090, 07095, 07922, 07946, 07980, 08805, 08812, 08817, 08820, 08824, 08830, 08832, 08837, 08840, 08846, 08850, 08854, 08861, 08863, 08873, 08880, 08882, 08901, 08902, 08904, 10307, 10309, 10312.
What can I plant here, and when? ›
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Somerville Somerset Airport, NJ, last frost by April 26
- Harrison, NJ, last frost by April 4
- Boonton 1 SE, NJ, last frost by April 17
- Freehold-Marlboro, NJ, last frost by April 17
- Teterboro Airport, NJ, last frost by April 3
- New York Cntrl Pk Twr, NY, last frost by March 30
Other stations in New Jersey.
- Long Branch-Oakhurst, NJ, last frost by April 9
- Trenton State College, NJ, last frost by April 17
- Wanaque Raymond Dam, NJ, last frost by April 19
- Phillipsburg-Easton Brg, NJ, last frost by April 18
- Sussex 3 WNW, NJ, last frost by April 30
- Indian Mills 2 W, NJ, last frost by April 28
- Millville Municipal Airport, NJ, last frost by April 24