Frost dates in North Carolina

Across North Carolina's 187 NOAA stations with a frost every year, the typical last spring frost ranges from March 1 at Frisco 2 NNE (at sea level) to May 16 at Mount Mitchell (6,240 feet above sea level). The middle station's date is April 1.

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Last frost across North Carolina

The frost-free season runs from 140 days at Mount Mitchell to 293 days at Ocracoke.

The station with the latest frost sits about 6,200 feet higher 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 North Carolina'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 North Carolina

North Carolina's 1,072 ZIP codes in the USDA list fall in zones 6b to 9a: 6b (1 percent), 7a (6 percent), 7b (16 percent), 8a (60 percent), 8b (15 percent) and 9a (2 percent). Compared with the 2012 map, 69 percent of them moved to a warmer half zone (10 by a full zone or more) and 31 percent stayed the same.

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 North Carolina

All 187 stations in North Carolina 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.