Milpa Gardens
Sign in

Leer en español

Frost dates for Storrs, Connecticut

Half of years have their last spring frost by April 19, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 3.

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 3
1 year in 5
April 29
3 years in 10
April 25
2 years in 5
April 22
Half of years (the median)
April 19

First fall freeze

How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.

1 year in 10
October 6
1 year in 5
October 11
3 years in 10
October 15
2 years in 5
October 19
Half of years (the median)
October 22
Growing season
about 186 days
Hardiness zone nearby
6b
Summer days
a usual high of about 26 °C78 °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 ~2 °C35 °F · low ~-7 °C19 °F · rain ~93 mm3.6 in
February
high ~3 °C37 °F · low ~-6 °C20 °F · rain ~76 mm3 in
March
high ~7 °C45 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~111 mm4.4 in
April
high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~3 °C38 °F · rain ~107 mm4.2 in
May
high ~20 °C68 °F · low ~9 °C48 °F · rain ~95 mm3.7 in
June
high ~24 °C76 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~115 mm4.5 in
July
high ~27 °C80 °F · low ~17 °C63 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
August
high ~26 °C79 °F · low ~16 °C61 °F · rain ~109 mm4.3 in
September
high ~23 °C73 °F · low ~12 °C54 °F · rain ~114 mm4.5 in
October
high ~16 °C61 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~116 mm4.6 in
November
high ~10 °C50 °F · low ~1 °C34 °F · rain ~99 mm3.9 in
December
high ~4 °C40 °F · low ~-4 °C25 °F · rain ~114 mm4.5 in

Where these numbers come from

NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Storrs station (listed by NOAA as Storrs HCN, USC00068138), at 41.80, -72.23. 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

06084, 06232, 06238, 06248, 06268, 06269, 06278.

Nearby stations

The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.

Other stations in Connecticut.

What can I plant now? ›

When do I plant? · Where the dates come from

More ways Milpa can help

When do I plant? · What grows well together? · Plan my garden · What can I plant now? · Something wrong in the garden? · Keep a garden diary · Heard a tip?

All locations · All plants · Folklore, checked