FrostDateCheck

Milton, NC 27291 Frost Dates

27291, near Milton, NC: the frost window

Zone 7b

The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/15, about 230 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/26, roughly 194 days after the last spring frost.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Milton in Zone 7b (5 to 10°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

Milton's growing season runs out in roughly 8 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.

Why 04/15 isn't a guarantee

04/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/27 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.

Milton against the rest of the dataset

About 194 days separate Milton's last and first frost, putting it 19,644 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NC, it ranks 950 of 1,078.

Learn more

Two guides worth reading on 27291: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 7b and Milton's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Milton's dates instead of trusting one.