FrostDateCheck

Bowie, MD 20715 Frost Dates

Frost dates for Bowie, MD, ZIP 20715

Zone 7a

Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/22, roughly 237 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/22, about 183 frost-free days later.

Zone 7a (0 to 5°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 Bowie, not a forecast for this year.

What to do before the first frost

Zone 7a around Bowie has about 8 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 04/22 isn't a guarantee

04/22 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/03 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Bowie compares

Bowie's growing season runs about 183 days, ranking 23,743 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MD, it ranks 535 of 583.

Learn more

zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Bowie's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Bowie's dates instead of trusting one.