Frost dates for Raleigh State Univ, North Carolina
Half of years have their last spring frost by March 28, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 12.
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 12
- 1 year in 5
- April 7
- 3 years in 10
- April 3
- 2 years in 5
- April 1
- Half of years (the median)
- March 28
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 28
- 1 year in 5
- November 1
- 3 years in 10
- November 4
- 2 years in 5
- November 6
- Half of years (the median)
- November 8
- Growing season
- about 229 days
- Hardiness zone nearby
- 8a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 32 °C89 °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.
- Hot-weather watering
- July: days run above 32 °C90 °F and nights stay above 21 °C70 °F, so expect to water daily or every other day (how we know)
Month by month
- January
- high ~11 °C52 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~93 mm3.6 in
- February
- high ~13 °C55 °F · low ~1 °C33 °F · rain ~73 mm2.9 in
- March
- high ~17 °C63 °F · low ~4 °C40 °F · rain ~106 mm4.2 in
- April
- high ~22 °C72 °F · low ~9 °C49 °F · rain ~92 mm3.6 in
- May
- high ~27 °C80 °F · low ~14 °C58 °F · rain ~101 mm4 in
- June
- high ~31 °C87 °F · low ~19 °C66 °F · rain ~124 mm4.9 in
- July
- high ~33 °C91 °F · low ~21 °C70 °F · rain ~118 mm4.6 in
- August
- high ~32 °C89 °F · low ~20 °C69 °F · rain ~120 mm4.7 in
- September
- high ~28 °C82 °F · low ~17 °C63 °F · rain ~145 mm5.7 in
- October
- high ~22 °C72 °F · low ~10 °C51 °F · rain ~99 mm3.9 in
- November
- high ~17 °C62 °F · low ~5 °C41 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
- December
- high ~13 °C55 °F · low ~2 °C35 °F · rain ~94 mm3.7 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Raleigh State Univ station (listed by NOAA as Raleigh State Univ, USC00317079), at 35.79, -78.70. 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
27502, 27511, 27513, 27518, 27519, 27523, 27539, 27540, 27560, 27562, 27587, 27592, 27601, 27603, 27604, 27605, 27606, 27607, 27608, 27609, 27610, 27612, 27613, 27614, 27615, 27616, 27617, 27701, 27703, 27704, 27709, 27713.
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.
- Rural Hall, NC, last frost by April 6
Other stations in North Carolina.
- Salisbury 9 WNW, NC, last frost by April 9
- Charlotte Douglas Airport, NC, last frost by March 30
- Shelby 2 NW, NC, last frost by April 12
- Boone 1 SE, NC, last frost by May 2
- Tryon, NC, last frost by March 27