Downingtown, PA 19496 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Downingtown, PA, ZIP 19496
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/26, roughly 241 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/18, about 174 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Downingtown in Zone 7a (0 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
Zone 7a around Downingtown has about 7 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.
The actual range around Downingtown's last frost
04/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/10 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Downingtown compares
Downingtown's growing season runs about 174 days, ranking 27,425 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within PA, it ranks 1,300 of 2,088.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Downingtown can differ from the 19496 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Downingtown's frost date answer different questions.