Rutland, VT 05744 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Rutland, VT, ZIP 05744
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/15, about 260 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/27, about 132 frost-free days later.
Rutland 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
Zone 5a around Rutland has about 4 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
Why 05/15 isn't a guarantee
05/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/31 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Rutland compares
At roughly 132 frost-free days, Rutland places 38,169 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within VT, it ranks 266 of 330.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Rutland can differ from the 05744 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5a and Rutland's frost date answer different questions.