Frost dates in New York

Across New York's 176 NOAA stations with a frost every year, the typical last spring frost ranges from March 26 at New York Laguardia Airport (10 feet above sea level) to June 2 at Saranac Regional Airport (1,660 feet above sea level). The middle station's date is May 4.

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Last frost across New York

The frost-free season runs from 97 days at Saranac Regional Airport to 244 days at New York Laguardia Airport.

The station with the latest frost is about 250 miles farther north than the one with the earliest.

These are typical dates: in half of springs the last frost comes later. Each place's page, and each ZIP code lookup, also gives the late-year date, after which only 1 spring in 10 has a frost. That's the safer date for tender plants.

Frost dates for New York's larger places

Typical (1-in-2) dates. Each place's page has the early and late years, a planting calendar and a printable planner. Zones are for the ZIP code nearest each place's center.

Hardiness zones in New York

New York's 2,124 ZIP codes in the USDA list fall in zones 4a to 7b: 4a (1 percent), 4b (5 percent), 5a (7 percent), 5b (21 percent), 6a (23 percent), 6b (15 percent), 7a (5 percent) and 7b (23 percent). Compared with the 2012 map, 56 percent of them moved to a warmer half zone (21 by a full zone or more), 44 percent stayed the same and 6 moved to a colder one.

A hardiness zone is about the coldest night of winter, which decides which shrubs, trees and perennials survive. Frost dates are about spring and fall, which decide when to plant. You need both. Read more about what the zones mean and what changed in 2023.

Every NOAA station in New York

All 176 stations in New York with frost statistics in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, from A to Z. Station names are usually a town, an airport, or a distance and direction from a town. Find one near you and at a similar elevation.

Typical (1-in-2) dates at 32°F. For the early and late years, and a planting calendar built from your own dates, look up your ZIP code.