Frost dates for Rowe 3 NE, Massachusetts
Half of years have their last spring frost by May 14, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 26.
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 26
- 1 year in 5
- May 23
- 3 years in 10
- May 19
- 2 years in 5
- May 16
- Half of years (the median)
- May 14
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- September 20
- 1 year in 5
- September 26
- 3 years in 10
- September 30
- 2 years in 5
- October 1
- Half of years (the median)
- October 4
- Growing season
- about 143 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 5a, 5b, 6a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 23 °C73 °F
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 ~-2 °C29 °F · low ~-12 °C11 °F · rain ~108 mm4.2 in
- February
- high ~0 °C31 °F · low ~-11 °C13 °F · rain ~94 mm3.7 in
- March
- high ~4 °C39 °F · low ~-7 °C20 °F · rain ~112 mm4.4 in
- April
- high ~10 °C51 °F · low ~0 °C31 °F · rain ~111 mm4.4 in
- May
- high ~17 °C63 °F · low ~5 °C42 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
- June
- high ~21 °C70 °F · low ~11 °C52 °F · rain ~118 mm4.6 in
- July
- high ~24 °C75 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~122 mm4.8 in
- August
- high ~24 °C75 °F · low ~13 °C55 °F · rain ~122 mm4.8 in
- September
- high ~20 °C68 °F · low ~9 °C47 °F · rain ~117 mm4.6 in
- October
- high ~13 °C56 °F · low ~2 °C36 °F · rain ~127 mm5 in
- November
- high ~7 °C44 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~99 mm3.9 in
- December
- high ~1 °C34 °F · low ~-7 °C19 °F · rain ~118 mm4.7 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Rowe 3 NE station (listed by NOAA as Rowe 3NE, USC00196989), at 42.73, -72.87. 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
01026, 01032, 01070, 01256, 01270, 01301, 01330, 01337, 01338, 01339, 01340, 01341…
+13 moreShow fewer
01342, 01343, 01346, 01350, 01367, 01370, 05301, 05341, 05342, 05350, 05358, 05361, 05363.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Tully Lake, MA, last frost by April 25
- Lenox Dale, MA, last frost by May 7
- Peru, VT, last frost by May 16
- Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA, last frost by May 3
- Belchertown, MA, last frost by May 3
- Albany Airport, NY, last frost by April 27
Other stations in Massachusetts.
- Worcester Regional Airport, MA, last frost by April 23
- West Medway, MA, last frost by April 30
- Lawrence, MA, last frost by April 13
- Jamaica Plain, MA, last frost by April 19
- Beverly, MA, last frost by May 4
- Hingham, MA, last frost by April 25
- E Wareham, MA, last frost by April 21
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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