Bear Lake, PA 16402 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Bear Lake, PA, ZIP 16402
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/22, roughly 267 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/30, about 131 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Bear Lake, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 5b around Bear Lake has about 5 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 05/22 isn't a guarantee
05/22 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. 06/05 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Bear Lake compares
Bear Lake's growing season runs about 131 days, ranking 38,342 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within PA, it ranks 2,087 of 2,088.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Bear Lake can differ from the 16402 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Bear Lake's frost date answer different questions.