Medford, MA 02474 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Medford, MA, ZIP 02474
Around 04/25 is the usual last spring frost, about 240 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/17, about 174 frost-free days later.
Medford 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
Zone 6b around Medford has about 7 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/25 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/13 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Medford compares
About 174 days separate Medford's last and first frost, putting it 27,328 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MA, it ranks 306 of 712.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Medford can differ from the 02474 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6b and Medford's frost date answer different questions.