Lowell, MA 01886 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Lowell, MA?
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/10, 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 Lowell, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Lowell before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/19 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/10 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Lowell compares
At roughly 164 frost-free days, Lowell places 30,811 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MA, it ranks 416 of 712.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Lowell's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Lowell can differ from the 01886 normal.