State College, PA 16801 Frost Dates
When can you plant in State College, PA?
Around 04/20 is the usual last spring frost, about 235 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/26, about 187 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts State College in Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 8 weeks of growing season left in State College before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around State College's last frost
04/20 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/07 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/06 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How State College compares
About 187 days separate State College's last and first frost, putting it 22,287 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within PA, it ranks 603 of 2,088.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in State College can differ from the 16801 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6b and State College's frost date answer different questions.