Frost dates for Rochester Greater International Airport, New York
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 24, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 8.
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 8
- 1 year in 5
- May 3
- 3 years in 10
- April 30
- 2 years in 5
- April 27
- Half of years (the median)
- April 24
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 8
- 1 year in 5
- October 14
- 3 years in 10
- October 18
- 2 years in 5
- October 22
- Half of years (the median)
- October 25
- Growing season
- about 181 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 ~1 °C33 °F · low ~-7 °C19 °F · rain ~65 mm2.6 in
- February
- high ~2 °C35 °F · low ~-7 °C20 °F · rain ~54 mm2.1 in
- March
- high ~6 °C44 °F · low ~-3 °C27 °F · rain ~63 mm2.5 in
- April
- high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~76 mm3 in
- May
- high ~21 °C69 °F · low ~9 °C48 °F · rain ~73 mm2.9 in
- June
- high ~26 °C78 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~86 mm3.4 in
- July
- high ~28 °C83 °F · low ~17 °C62 °F · rain ~90 mm3.6 in
- August
- high ~27 °C80 °F · low ~16 °C61 °F · rain ~84 mm3.3 in
- September
- high ~23 °C74 °F · low ~12 °C54 °F · rain ~81 mm3.2 in
- October
- high ~16 °C61 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~82 mm3.2 in
- November
- high ~10 °C49 °F · low ~1 °C34 °F · rain ~70 mm2.8 in
- December
- high ~4 °C38 °F · low ~-4 °C25 °F · rain ~68 mm2.7 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Rochester Greater International Airport station (listed by NOAA as Rochester Gtr Intl Ap HCN, USW00014768), at 43.12, -77.68. 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
14416, 14420, 14428, 14445, 14467, 14468, 14472, 14506, 14511, 14514, 14534, 14543…
+26 moreShow fewer
14546, 14559, 14586, 14604, 14605, 14606, 14607, 14608, 14609, 14610, 14611, 14612, 14613, 14614, 14615, 14616, 14617, 14618, 14619, 14620, 14621, 14623, 14624, 14625, 14626, 14627.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Warsaw 6 SW, NY, last frost by May 7
- Buffalo, NY, last frost by April 24
- Aurora Rsch Farm, NY, last frost by May 1
- Colden 1 N, NY, last frost by May 7
- Brewerton Lock, NY, last frost by May 4
- Elmira Corning Regional Airport, NY, last frost by May 9
Other stations in New York.
- Syracuse Hancock International Airport, NY, last frost by April 29
- Morrisville 6 SW, NY, last frost by May 6
- Binghamton, NY, last frost by May 2
- Utica Oneida County Airport, NY, last frost by May 1
- E Sidney, NY, last frost by May 11
- Gouverneur 3 NW, NY, last frost by May 14
- Cherry Valley 2 NNE, NY, last frost by May 6
- Delhi 2 SE, NY, last frost by May 19
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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