Pittsfield, MA 01235 Frost Dates
Pittsfield, MA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/13, about 258 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/02, roughly 144 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pittsfield in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 5 weeks until Pittsfield's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/13 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/29 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/26 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Pittsfield against the rest of the dataset
Pittsfield's growing season runs about 144 days, ranking 36,329 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MA, it ranks 686 of 712.
Learn more
Before leaning on 01235's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Pittsfield can differ from the 01235 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Pittsfield's frost date answer different questions.