Oil City, PA 16343 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Oil City, PA?
Around 05/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 260 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/03, about 140 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Oil City in Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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 Oil City before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/01 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Oil City compares
About 140 days separate Oil City's last and first frost, putting it 37,039 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within PA, it ranks 1,976 of 2,088.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Oil City's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Oil City can differ from the 16343 normal.