Frost dates North Carolina Raleigh

Frost dates in Raleigh, North Carolina

Last spring frost Mar 28 First fall frost Nov 8 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Raleigh is Mar 28 and the average first fall frost is Nov 8, measured at RALEIGH STATE UNIV, about 4 miles from the city centre. Below: how sure those dates are, and what to start, sow and set out each week.

Average last spring frostMar 2832°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostNov 832°F, 50% probability
Days between them225average frost-free season
How sure is that date? NOAA probability levels for a 32°F freeze
ProbabilityFreeze still comes after (spring)First freeze has come by (fall)
90%Mar 8Nov 27
50%Mar 28Nov 8
10%Apr 12Oct 28

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Mar 28, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Apr 12. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Oct 28.

Measured at: RALEIGH STATE UNIV, NC (NOAA station USC00317079), about 4 miles away at 400 ft, 27 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • RALEIGH 4 SW, NC (NOAA station USC00317074), about 4 miles away at 420 ft, 17 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 28, first fall frost Nov 9
  • GARNER, NC (NOAA station USC00313238), about 7 miles away at 330 ft, 10 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Apr 1, first fall frost Nov 1

Seed-starting schedule for Raleigh, NC

Counted from a last frost date of Mar 28 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Dec 2014 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekDec 20 to Jan 3
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionDec 20 to Jan 3
  2. Week of Dec 2713 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyDec 27 to Jan 3
  3. Week of Jan 312 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryJan 3 to Jan 17
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachJan 3 to Jan 17
  4. Week of Jan 1710 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliJan 17 to Jan 31
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutJan 17 to Jan 31
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageJan 17 to Jan 31
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleJan 17 to Jan 31
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiJan 17 to Jan 31
  5. Week of Jan 249 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceJan 24 to Jan 31
  6. Week of Jan 318 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerJan 31 to Feb 14
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantJan 31 to Feb 14
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperJan 31 to Feb 14
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardJan 31 to Feb 14
  7. Week of Feb 77 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoFeb 7 to Feb 21
  8. Week of Feb 146 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilFeb 14 to Feb 28
    • Set transplants outSpinachFeb 14 to Mar 7
  9. Week of Feb 284 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishFeb 28 to Mar 14
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Feb 28
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipFeb 28 to Mar 14
    • Set transplants outBroccoliFeb 28 to Mar 14
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutFeb 28 to Mar 14
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Feb 28
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Feb 28
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Feb 28
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Feb 28
    • Set transplants outLettuceFeb 28 to Mar 7
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Feb 28
  10. Week of Mar 73 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberMar 7 to Mar 14
    • Set transplants outParsleyMar 7 to Mar 14
  11. Week of Mar 142 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonMar 14 to Mar 21
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinMar 14 to Mar 21
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashMar 14 to Mar 21
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashMar 14 to Mar 21
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniMar 14 to Mar 21
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoMar 14 to Mar 21
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Mar 14
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Mar 14
  12. Week of Mar 28Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Mar 28
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Mar 28
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Mar 28
  13. Week of Apr 41 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoApr 4 to Apr 11
    • Set transplants outCucumberApr 4 to Apr 11
    • Set transplants outTomatoApr 4 to Apr 11
  14. Week of Apr 112 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Apr 11
    • Set transplants outEggplantApr 11 to Apr 18
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Apr 11
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Apr 11
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Apr 11
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Apr 11
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Apr 11
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Apr 11

Not in the city centre? Look up your own ZIP code

More in North Carolina

Where the numbers come from

Sources and method

Frost dates. U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Palecki, Durre, Applequist, Arguez and Lawrimore, 2021). These are 30-year station statistics for 1991 to 2020. "Frost" here means an air temperature of 32°F or lower at the station. We use 6,539 stations that have at least 10 years of record and a published date; 176 more are stations where a freeze is too rare for NOAA to date, and 180 are stations cold enough to have frost risk all year.

Probability level. The headline dates are NOAA's 50% level: in half of years the last spring freeze comes later than that date, and in half of years the first fall freeze comes earlier. The 10% and 90% levels are shown next to them. For tender plants, the 10% spring date is the safer one to plan from: a freeze follows it in only 1 year in 10.

Which station. Your ZIP code is matched to the nearest of those stations by straight-line distance from the ZIP code's centre point (GeoNames, geonames.org, CC BY 4.0; 40,979 ZIP codes in the 50 states and DC). Nearest is not always most alike: a station on a hill, in a valley or by the water can differ from your garden by a week or more. That is why the station's name, distance and elevation are shown with every result, along with two more stations nearby. NOAA makes the same point: the normals are limited between stations as distance grows horizontally and vertically.

Seed-starting offsets. Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden, a fact sheet from University of New Hampshire Extension. It gives each crop's weeks from seed to transplant and when it is safe to set out or sow relative to the last frost. The method is theirs too: take the planting date and count back the seed-to-transplant weeks. Where the fact sheet gives a range of planting dates, the start-indoors dates count back from the earliest one. The figures used, as the fact sheet states them:

  • Basil: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Bean: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Broccoli: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Brussels sprout: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cabbage: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cauliflower: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost.
  • Celery: Seed to transplant 10-12 weeks; set out after last frost.
  • Cucumber: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Eggplant: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks after last frost.
  • Kale: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Kohlrabi: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Leek: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Lettuce: Seed to transplant 4-5 weeks; set out 3-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Melon: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Onion: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsley: Seed to transplant 9-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsnip: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Pepper: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Potato: Plant seed potatoes in garden 1-2 weeks before last frost.
  • Pumpkin: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Radish: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Spinach: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 3-6 weeks before last frost.
  • Summer squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Sweet potato: Plant slips in garden 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Swiss chard: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost; or plant seed in garden 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Tomato: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Turnip: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Winter squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Zucchini: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.

Not on the calendar. The same fact sheet times these by soil temperature, not by frost date, so they get no date here:

  • Pea: as soon as the soil thaws.
  • Beet: when the soil warms to 45°F.
  • Carrot: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Corn: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Cucumber, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, zucchini: direct-sow when the soil warms to 70°F.

Rutabaga is left out: the fact sheet gives it New Hampshire calendar dates, not a frost offset.

The fact sheet was written for New Hampshire. The offsets are relative to the last frost, so they carry to other places with a spring frost, but where winters are mild many cool-season crops are grown in fall and winter instead. Your state's extension service has the local calendar. Dates are 30-year statistics, not a forecast: check the forecast before setting tender plants out.

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