Macon, NC 27551 Frost Dates
Macon, NC: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/03, roughly 218 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/05, roughly 217 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Macon in Zone 8a (10 to 15°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
With roughly 10 weeks until Macon's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/03 isn't a guarantee
04/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/18 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/19 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Macon against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 217 frost-free days, Macon places 13,631 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NC, it ranks 685 of 1,078.
Learn more
Before leaning on 27551's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Macon's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Macon's dates instead of trusting one.