Waterville, ME 04944 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Waterville, ME?
Around 05/02 is the usual last spring frost, about 247 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/10, about 159 frost-free days later.
Waterville sits in USDA Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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 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
At roughly 159 frost-free days, Waterville places 32,605 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within ME, it ranks 167 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.