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Frost dates for Westport Island, Maine

Half of years have their last spring frost by April 28, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 9.

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 9
1 year in 5
May 4
3 years in 10
May 2
2 years in 5
April 30
Half of years (the median)
April 28

First fall freeze

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

1 year in 10
October 5
1 year in 5
October 10
3 years in 10
October 15
2 years in 5
October 18
Half of years (the median)
October 21
Growing season
about 175 days
Hardiness zone nearby
6a
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.

Month by month

January
high ~-1 °C31 °F · low ~-10 °C14 °F · rain ~111 mm4.4 in
February
high ~1 °C33 °F · low ~-9 °C16 °F · rain ~99 mm3.9 in
March
high ~5 °C40 °F · low ~-4 °C24 °F · rain ~125 mm4.9 in
April
high ~11 °C51 °F · low ~1 °C34 °F · rain ~110 mm4.3 in
May
high ~17 °C62 °F · low ~7 °C44 °F · rain ~91 mm3.6 in
June
high ~21 °C70 °F · low ~12 °C53 °F · rain ~112 mm4.4 in
July
high ~25 °C76 °F · low ~15 °C59 °F · rain ~94 mm3.7 in
August
high ~24 °C76 °F · low ~15 °C59 °F · rain ~82 mm3.2 in
September
high ~21 °C69 °F · low ~11 °C51 °F · rain ~110 mm4.3 in
October
high ~14 °C58 °F · low ~5 °C42 °F · rain ~131 mm5.2 in
November
high ~8 °C47 °F · low ~0 °C32 °F · rain ~110 mm4.4 in
December
high ~3 °C37 °F · low ~-6 °C22 °F · rain ~137 mm5.4 in

Where these numbers come from

NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Westport Island station (listed by NOAA as Westport Island, USC00179547), at 43.89, -69.71. 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

04537, 04538, 04541, 04544, 04548, 04554, 04558, 04562, 04564, 04568, 04570, 04571…

+2 moreShow fewer

04575, 04576.

Nearby stations

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

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?

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