Worcester, MA 01609 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Worcester, MA?
Around 04/23 is the usual last spring frost, about 238 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/21, about 181 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 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.
Why 04/23 isn't a guarantee
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
At roughly 181 frost-free days, Worcester places 24,400 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MA, it ranks 225 of 712.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Worcester can differ from the 01609 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6b and Worcester's frost date answer different questions.