Sanford, ME 04083 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Sanford, ME, ZIP 04083
Around 05/16 is the usual last spring frost, about 261 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/30, about 136 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Sanford, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Sanford has about 5 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 Sanford's last frost
05/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/02 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/29 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Sanford compares
Sanford's growing season runs about 136 days, ranking 37,640 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within ME, it ranks 402 of 456.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Sanford's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Sanford's dates instead of trusting one.