Worcester, MA 01542 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Worcester, MA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/01, about 246 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/10, about 162 frost-free days later.
Worcester sits in USDA Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 Worcester before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Worcester's last frost
05/01 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. 05/13 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Worcester compares
About 162 days separate Worcester's last and first frost, putting it 31,559 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MA, it ranks 450 of 712.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Worcester's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Worcester can differ from the 01542 normal.