New Bedford, MA 02746 Frost Dates
When can you plant in New Bedford, MA?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/29, roughly 244 days out. 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
About 7 weeks of growing season left in New Bedford before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
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
New Bedford's growing season runs about 167 days, ranking 29,831 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MA, it ranks 387 of 712.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around New Bedford's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in New Bedford can differ from the 02746 normal.