Cambridge, MA 02116 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Cambridge, MA?
Around 04/04 is the usual last spring frost, about 219 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/09, about 218 frost-free days later.
Cambridge sits in USDA Zone 7a (0 to 5°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 10 weeks of growing season left in Cambridge before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Cambridge's last frost
04/04 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/17 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Cambridge compares
Cambridge's growing season runs about 218 days, ranking 13,169 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MA, it ranks 10 of 712.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Cambridge can differ from the 02116 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7a and Cambridge's frost date answer different questions.