Northampton, MA 01093 Frost Dates
Northampton, MA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/02, about 247 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/09, roughly 160 days after the last spring frost.
Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Northampton, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 6 weeks until Northampton's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 05/02 isn't a guarantee
05/02 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/21 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/16 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Northampton against the rest of the dataset
Northampton's growing season runs about 160 days, ranking 32,245 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MA, it ranks 533 of 712.
Learn more
Before leaning on 01093's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Northampton's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Northampton can differ from the 01093 normal.