Raleigh, NC 27624 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Raleigh, NC?
Around 03/28 is the usual last spring frost, about 212 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/08, about 229 frost-free days later.
Raleigh sits in USDA Zone 8a (10 to 15°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
About 10 weeks of growing season left in Raleigh before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/08 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/12 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Raleigh compares
At roughly 229 frost-free days, Raleigh places 10,512 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NC, it ranks 253 of 1,078.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Raleigh can differ from the 27624 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8a and Raleigh's frost date answer different questions.