FrostDateCheck

Keene, NH 03469 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Keene, NH?

Zone 5b

The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/14, about 259 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/01, about 138 frost-free days later.

Keene sits in USDA Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 5 weeks of growing season left in Keene before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

How much risk comes with planting early here

05/14 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/28 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Keene compares

About 138 days separate Keene's last and first frost, putting it 37,350 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NH, it ranks 202 of 260.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Keene can differ from the 03469 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Keene's frost date answer different questions.