Malden, MA 02148 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Malden, MA, ZIP 02148
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/04, roughly 219 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/09, about 218 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 Malden, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6b around Malden has about 10 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
Why 04/04 isn't a guarantee
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 Malden compares
About 218 days separate Malden's last and first frost, putting it 13,184 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MA, it ranks 19 of 712.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Malden can differ from the 02148 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6b and Malden's frost date answer different questions.