Frost dates for Rodale Rsch Center, Pennsylvania
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 26, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 13.
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 13
- 1 year in 5
- May 7
- 3 years in 10
- May 3
- 2 years in 5
- April 30
- Half of years (the median)
- April 26
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 1
- 1 year in 5
- October 5
- 3 years in 10
- October 8
- 2 years in 5
- October 11
- Half of years (the median)
- October 14
- Growing season
- about 171 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 6b, 7a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 28 °C83 °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 ~3 °C38 °F · low ~-7 °C20 °F · rain ~86 mm3.4 in
- February
- high ~5 °C41 °F · low ~-6 °C21 °F · rain ~71 mm2.8 in
- March
- high ~10 °C49 °F · low ~-2 °C29 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- April
- high ~17 °C62 °F · low ~4 °C39 °F · rain ~104 mm4.1 in
- May
- high ~22 °C72 °F · low ~9 °C49 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
- June
- high ~27 °C80 °F · low ~14 °C58 °F · rain ~114 mm4.5 in
- July
- high ~29 °C85 °F · low ~17 °C62 °F · rain ~137 mm5.4 in
- August
- high ~28 °C83 °F · low ~16 °C60 °F · rain ~113 mm4.4 in
- September
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~12 °C53 °F · rain ~121 mm4.8 in
- October
- high ~18 °C65 °F · low ~5 °C41 °F · rain ~108 mm4.3 in
- November
- high ~12 °C53 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~91 mm3.6 in
- December
- high ~6 °C42 °F · low ~-4 °C25 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Rodale Rsch Center station (listed by NOAA as Rodale Rsch Ctr, USC00367578), at 40.55, -75.72. 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
18011, 18031, 18046, 18049, 18051, 18052, 18056, 18062, 18066, 18068, 18069, 18070, 18078, 18087, 18092, 18101, 18102, 18103, 18104, 18105, 18106, 18195, 19504, 19511, 19530, 19536, 19538, 19539, 19562.
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.
- Lehighton 1 SSW, PA, last frost by April 21
- Phillipsburg-Easton Brg, NJ, last frost by April 18
- Mahanoy City 2 N, PA, last frost by April 30
- Willow Grove Naval Air Station, PA, last frost by April 11
- Lancaster Airport, PA, last frost by April 18
- Mt Pocono Mountains Airport, PA, last frost by May 6
Other stations in Pennsylvania.
- Phila Franklin Inst, PA, last frost by March 30
- Philadelphia International Airport, PA, last frost by April 2
- Wilkes-Barre International Airport, PA, last frost by April 23
- Middletown Harrisburg International Airport, PA, last frost by April 9
- Selinsgrove 2 S, PA, last frost by April 25
- Carlisle Wtp, PA, last frost by April 23
- Pleasant Mt 1 W, PA, last frost by May 14
- Shippensburg, PA, last frost by April 19