Bristol, CT 06786 Frost Dates
Bristol, CT: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/25, roughly 240 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/18, roughly 172 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bristol in Zone 6b (-5 to 0°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 7 weeks until Bristol's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
The actual range around Bristol's last frost
04/25 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/12 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/10 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Bristol against the rest of the dataset
Bristol's growing season runs about 172 days, ranking 28,152 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CT, it ranks 329 of 391.
Learn more
Before leaning on 06786's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Bristol can differ from the 06786 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6b and Bristol's frost date answer different questions.