Bath, NY 14856 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Bath, NY?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/12, roughly 257 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/03, about 144 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bath in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 5 weeks of growing season left in Bath before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 05/12 isn't a guarantee
05/12 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/28 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/28 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Bath compares
Bath's growing season runs about 144 days, ranking 36,360 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NY, it ranks 1,700 of 1,951.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Bath's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Bath can differ from the 14856 normal.