Wells River, VT 03785 Frost Dates
03785, near Wells River, VT: the frost window
Around 05/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 260 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 09/28, roughly 133 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Wells River in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Wells River's growing season runs out in roughly 4 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 05/01 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 06/03 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Wells River against the rest of the dataset
Wells River's growing season runs about 133 days, ranking 38,102 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within VT, it ranks 257 of 330.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 03785: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5a and Wells River's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Wells River's dates instead of trusting one.