Frost dates for West Medway, Massachusetts
Half of years have their last spring frost by April 30, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 14.
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 14
- 1 year in 5
- May 8
- 3 years in 10
- May 4
- 2 years in 5
- May 2
- Half of years (the median)
- April 30
First fall freeze
How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.
- 1 year in 10
- September 29
- 1 year in 5
- October 1
- 3 years in 10
- October 4
- 2 years in 5
- October 7
- Half of years (the median)
- October 9
- Growing season
- about 162 days
- Hardiness zone nearby
- 6b
- Summer days
- a usual high of about 28 °C82 °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 ~-9 °C17 °F · rain ~104 mm4.1 in
- February
- high ~5 °C41 °F · low ~-8 °C18 °F · rain ~85 mm3.3 in
- March
- high ~9 °C48 °F · low ~-4 °C25 °F · rain ~118 mm4.6 in
- April
- high ~16 °C60 °F · low ~2 °C35 °F · rain ~122 mm4.8 in
- May
- high ~22 °C71 °F · low ~8 °C46 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- June
- high ~26 °C79 °F · low ~13 °C55 °F · rain ~114 mm4.5 in
- July
- high ~29 °C85 °F · low ~16 °C61 °F · rain ~88 mm3.5 in
- August
- high ~28 °C83 °F · low ~15 °C59 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
- September
- high ~25 °C76 °F · low ~10 °C51 °F · rain ~106 mm4.2 in
- October
- high ~18 °C65 °F · low ~4 °C39 °F · rain ~128 mm5.1 in
- November
- high ~12 °C53 °F · low ~-1 °C31 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
- December
- high ~6 °C43 °F · low ~-5 °C23 °F · rain ~118 mm4.6 in
Where these numbers come from
NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the West Medway station (listed by NOAA as West Medway HCN, USC00199316), at 42.13, -71.43. 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
01504, 01525, 01529, 01534, 01568, 01569, 01581, 01588, 01702, 01721, 01746, 01747, 01748, 01756, 01757, 01770, 02019, 02038, 02053, 02054, 02056, 02093, 02802, 02838, 02864, 02876, 02895, 02896.
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.
- Jamaica Plain, MA, last frost by April 19
- Worcester Regional Airport, MA, last frost by April 23
- N Foster 1 E, RI, last frost by April 25
- Hingham, MA, last frost by April 25
- Providence T F Green Airport, RI, last frost by April 11
- Tiverton, RI, last frost by April 11
Other stations in Massachusetts.
- Lawrence, MA, last frost by April 13
- Beverly, MA, last frost by May 4
- E Wareham, MA, last frost by April 21
- Belchertown, MA, last frost by May 3
- Tully Lake, MA, last frost by April 25
- Westfield Barnes Municipal Airport, MA, last frost by May 3
- Rowe 3 NE, MA, last frost by May 14
- Lenox Dale, MA, last frost by May 7