Frost dates for Tacoma Narrows Airport, Washington
Half of years have their last spring frost by March 11, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after April 2.
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
- April 2
- 1 year in 5
- March 27
- 3 years in 10
- March 21
- 2 years in 5
- March 16
- Half of years (the median)
- March 11
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- November 3
- 1 year in 5
- November 9
- 3 years in 10
- November 13
- 2 years in 5
- November 16
- Half of years (the median)
- November 21
- Growing season
- about 254 days
- Hardiness zones nearby
- 8b, 9a
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 23 °C74 °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 ~8 °C46 °F · low ~2 °C36 °F · rain ~154 mm6.1 in
- February
- high ~9 °C48 °F · low ~2 °C36 °F · rain ~104 mm4.1 in
- March
- high ~12 °C53 °F · low ~4 °C38 °F · rain ~118 mm4.6 in
- April
- high ~14 °C58 °F · low ~5 °C41 °F · rain ~86 mm3.4 in
- May
- high ~18 °C65 °F · low ~8 °C47 °F · rain ~53 mm2.1 in
- June
- high ~21 °C70 °F · low ~10 °C51 °F · rain ~34 mm1.4 in
- July
- high ~24 °C76 °F · low ~12 °C54 °F · rain ~17 mm0.7 in
- August
- high ~24 °C76 °F · low ~12 °C54 °F · rain ~22 mm0.9 in
- September
- high ~21 °C70 °F · low ~11 °C51 °F · rain ~39 mm1.5 in
- October
- high ~15 °C59 °F · low ~8 °C46 °F · rain ~110 mm4.3 in
- November
- high ~10 °C51 °F · low ~4 °C40 °F · rain ~182 mm7.2 in
- December
- high ~8 °C46 °F · low ~2 °C36 °F · rain ~148 mm5.8 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Tacoma Narrows Airport station (listed by NOAA as Tacoma Narrows Ap, USW00094274), at 47.27, -122.58. 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
98303, 98327, 98329, 98332, 98333, 98335, 98349, 98351, 98388, 98394, 98406, 98407, 98430, 98433, 98465, 98466, 98467, 98498.
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.
- Tacoma #1, WA, last frost by March 8
- Seattle Sand Point, WA, last frost by March 8
Other stations in Washington.
- Spokane Felts Field, WA, last frost by April 26