FrostDateCheck

Springfield, MA 01095 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Springfield, MA?

Zone 6a

Around 05/03 is the usual last spring frost, about 248 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/14, about 164 frost-free days later.

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 Springfield, not a forecast for this year.

What to do before the first frost

About 7 weeks of growing season left in Springfield 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 04/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/16 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Springfield compares

At roughly 164 frost-free days, Springfield places 30,800 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MA, it ranks 406 of 712.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Springfield can differ from the 01095 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Springfield's frost date answer different questions.