FrostDateCheck

Hallowell, ME 04364 Frost Dates

04364, near Hallowell, ME: the frost window

Zone 5b

Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/27, roughly 242 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/16, roughly 172 days after the last spring frost.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Hallowell in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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

Hallowell's growing season runs out in roughly 7 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.

Why 04/27 isn't a guarantee

04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/15 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/07 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.

Hallowell against the rest of the dataset

Hallowell's growing season runs about 172 days, ranking 28,317 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within ME, it ranks 115 of 456.

Learn more

Two guides worth reading on 04364: local microclimates, on what one yard in Hallowell can differ from the 04364 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5b and Hallowell's frost date answer different questions.