FrostDateCheck

Laurel, MD 20866 Frost Dates

Frost dates for Laurel, MD, ZIP 20866

Zone 7b

Around 04/05 is the usual last spring frost, about 220 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/09, about 218 frost-free days later.

Laurel sits in USDA Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.

What to do before the first frost

Zone 7b around Laurel has about 10 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.

How much risk comes with planting early here

04/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Laurel compares

Laurel's growing season runs about 218 days, ranking 13,202 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MD, it ranks 252 of 583.

Learn more

the frost range explains how to read the range around Laurel's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Laurel can differ from the 20866 normal.