When is the last freeze in my area?
For gardeners, the final freeze of the season means they can start flower beds and vegetable gardens. For plant enthusiasts, it means it’s safe to move their greenery to the patio to soak up the sun.
How to keep plants safe during freezing temperatures
Late-season cold snaps can cause harm to any sensitive plants and vegetation left outdoors when temperatures fall below freezing. Here are some tips to keep them safe when temperatures drop to 32 degrees or lower.
If you are ready to start planting your outdoor spring garden, it doesn't matter that meteorological spring begins March 1 or the first day of astronomical spring is just under three weeks later.
No matter which definition you use to mark the beginning of spring, much of the U.S. will continue to see freezing temperatures well into May in an average year.
For gardeners, the final freeze of the season means they can start flower beds and vegetable gardens. For plant enthusiasts, it means it’s safe to move their greenery to the patio to soak up the sun.
So, when is the final freeze of the season? NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information uses 30 years of data to determine the average date of the final freeze.
THINKING ABOUT A SPRING GARDEN? WINTER IS THE TIME TO PLAN, PREPARE
The colored contours indicate the average date of the season's last freeze (32 degrees or lower) based on the most recent 30-year climatological averages (1991-2020).
(FOX Weather)
When is the last freeze of March?
It is the southern U.S. and parts of the West outside the mountains that typically experience their final freeze of the season during March.
Dallas, Austin, Savannah, Shreveport and Portland can generally start seed shopping early.
NEW HARDINESS ZONE MAP RELEASED BY USDA TO HELP 80 MILLION US GARDENERS PREPARE FOR WINTER
File: A frosty sunflower.
(Christopher Furlong / Getty Images)
When is the final freeze of April?
Warmer air spreads farther into the interior of the Lower 48 during the month of April. For much of the southern Plains, Midwest and Ohio Valley, this is when the final freeze of the season usually happens.
Kansas City, Tulsa, St. Louis, Amarillo, Indianapolis, Columbus and Nashville are usually safe to plant after April.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FROST, A FREEZE AND A HARD FREEZE?
File: A spring crocus.
(Wolfgang Kumm/picture alliance via Getty Images)
When is the last freeze of May?
The majority of the contiguous U.S. usually experiences the final freeze of the season during the month of May.
It's usually a long wait for gardeners in Albuquerque, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Boston.
File: People stop to admire flowers in Christopher Columbus Park in Boston on May 1, 2022.
(Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe / Getty Images)
When is the final freeze of June or later?
Only the highest elevations of the mountainous West typically see the final freeze of the year after June 1.
Want to know when to expect the first freeze of the year? Check out this map.