New Bedford, MA 02740 Frost Dates
Frost dates for New Bedford, MA, ZIP 02740
Around 04/29 is the usual last spring frost, about 244 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/15, about 167 frost-free days later.
Zone 7a (0 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 New Bedford, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7a around New Bedford 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.
The actual range around New Bedford's last frost
04/29 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/17 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/15 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How New Bedford compares
About 167 days separate New Bedford's last and first frost, putting it 29,828 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MA, it ranks 384 of 712.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in New Bedford can differ from the 02740 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and New Bedford's frost date answer different questions.