Reading, PA 19604 Frost Dates
19604, near Reading, PA: the frost window
Around 04/14 is the usual last spring frost, about 229 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/29, roughly 197 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Reading in Zone 7a (0 to 5°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Reading's growing season runs out in roughly 9 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/14 isn't a guarantee
04/14 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/01 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/30 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Reading against the rest of the dataset
Reading's growing season runs about 197 days, ranking 18,576 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within PA, it ranks 355 of 2,088.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 19604: local microclimates, on what one yard in Reading can differ from the 19604 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 7a and Reading's frost date answer different questions.