Worcester, MA 01601 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Worcester, MA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/23, roughly 238 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/21, about 181 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 Worcester, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 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
04/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/11 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/05 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Worcester compares
About 181 days separate Worcester's last and first frost, putting it 24,392 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MA, it ranks 217 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 01601 normal.