Chicopee, MA 01041 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Chicopee, MA?
Around 05/03 is the usual last spring frost, about 248 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/08, about 158 frost-free days later.
Chicopee sits in USDA Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Chicopee before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 05/03 isn't a guarantee
05/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/20 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/17 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Chicopee compares
At roughly 158 frost-free days, Chicopee places 32,881 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MA, it ranks 562 of 712.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Chicopee can differ from the 01041 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Chicopee's frost date answer different questions.