Waterville, ME 04967 Frost Dates
Waterville, ME: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/08, roughly 253 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/03, roughly 148 days after the last spring frost.
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.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 5 weeks until Waterville's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 05/08 isn't a guarantee
05/08 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/27 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/23 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Waterville against the rest of the dataset
Waterville's growing season runs about 148 days, ranking 35,684 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within ME, it ranks 318 of 456.
Learn more
Before leaning on 04967's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Waterville's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Waterville can differ from the 04967 normal.