Elizabeth City, NC 27956 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Elizabeth City, NC?
Around 03/27 is the usual last spring frost, about 211 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/17, about 238 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°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 Elizabeth City, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 12 weeks of growing season left in Elizabeth City 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
03/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/07 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/18 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Elizabeth City compares
At roughly 238 frost-free days, Elizabeth City places 8,952 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NC, it ranks 104 of 1,078.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Elizabeth City's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Elizabeth City's dates instead of trusting one.