Southern Shores, NC 27964 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Southern Shores, NC, ZIP 27964
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/15, roughly 199 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/06, about 266 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Southern Shores in Zone 9a (20 to 25°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 9a around Southern Shores has about 14 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.
Why 03/15 isn't a guarantee
03/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/23 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/30 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Southern Shores compares
Southern Shores's growing season runs about 266 days, ranking 5,936 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NC, it ranks 20 of 1,078.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Southern Shores's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Southern Shores can differ from the 27964 normal.