Waterville, ME 04922 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Waterville, ME?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/02, roughly 247 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/10, about 159 frost-free days later.
Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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 Waterville, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Waterville 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
05/02 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/23 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Waterville compares
About 159 days separate Waterville's last and first frost, putting it 32,602 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within ME, it ranks 164 of 456.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Waterville's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Waterville's dates instead of trusting one.