Frost dates for Tacoma #1, Washington
Half of years have their last spring frost by March 8, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after March 31.
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
- March 31
- 1 year in 5
- March 23
- 3 years in 10
- March 17
- 2 years in 5
- March 12
- Half of years (the median)
- March 8
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- October 30
- 1 year in 5
- November 3
- 3 years in 10
- November 7
- 2 years in 5
- November 11
- Half of years (the median)
- November 14
- Growing season
- about 250 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 8b, 9a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 24 °C75 °F
- Lettuce and spinach run to seed
- July 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.
- Nearly every drop is yours
- July to August: rain brings less than a quarter of the water a growing garden needs, about 25 mm1 in a week (how we know)
Month by month
- January
- high ~9 °C48 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~153 mm6 in
- February
- high ~10 °C50 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~102 mm4 in
- March
- high ~13 °C55 °F · low ~4 °C40 °F · rain ~111 mm4.4 in
- April
- high ~15 °C60 °F · low ~6 °C44 °F · rain ~86 mm3.4 in
- May
- high ~19 °C67 °F · low ~10 °C49 °F · rain ~51 mm2 in
- June
- high ~22 °C71 °F · low ~12 °C53 °F · rain ~36 mm1.4 in
- July
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~14 mm0.6 in
- August
- high ~25 °C77 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~21 mm0.8 in
- September
- high ~22 °C71 °F · low ~12 °C53 °F · rain ~40 mm1.6 in
- October
- high ~16 °C61 °F · low ~8 °C47 °F · rain ~104 mm4.1 in
- November
- high ~11 °C52 °F · low ~5 °C40 °F · rain ~165 mm6.5 in
- December
- high ~8 °C47 °F · low ~3 °C37 °F · rain ~153 mm6 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Tacoma #1 station (listed by NOAA as Tacoma #1, USC00458278), at 47.25, -122.41. 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
98003, 98023, 98047, 98354, 98402, 98403, 98404, 98405, 98408, 98409, 98416, 98418…
+9 moreShow fewer
98421, 98422, 98424, 98438, 98439, 98443, 98444, 98447, 98499.
Nearby stations
The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.
- Tacoma Narrows Airport, WA, last frost by March 11
- Seattle Sand Point, WA, last frost by March 8
Other stations in Washington.
- Spokane Felts Field, WA, last frost by April 26
When do I plant? · Where the dates come from
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