FrostDateCheck

Lake Placid, NY 12852 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Lake Placid, NY?

Zone 4b

The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/23, about 268 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/27, about 125 frost-free days later.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lake Placid in Zone 4b (-25 to -20°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.

What to do before the first frost

About 4 weeks of growing season left in Lake Placid before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

Why 05/23 isn't a guarantee

05/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/06 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Lake Placid compares

About 125 days separate Lake Placid's last and first frost, putting it 38,767 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NY, it ranks 1,922 of 1,951.

Learn more

the frost range covers how to read the range around Lake Placid's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Lake Placid can differ from the 12852 normal.