FrostDateCheck

Caribou, ME 04762 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Caribou, ME?

Zone 4a

Around 05/07 is the usual last spring frost, about 252 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/01, about 143 frost-free days later.

Caribou sits in USDA Zone 4a (-30 to -25°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 Caribou before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

Why 05/07 isn't a guarantee

05/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/27 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/24 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Caribou compares

At roughly 143 frost-free days, Caribou places 36,518 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within ME, it ranks 351 of 456.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Caribou can differ from the 04762 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4a and Caribou's frost date answer different questions.