Waxhaw, NC 28173 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Waxhaw, NC, ZIP 28173
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/31, about 215 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/05, about 220 frost-free days later.
Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 Waxhaw, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 8a around Waxhaw has about 10 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.
The actual range around Waxhaw's last frost
03/31 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/11 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/16 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Waxhaw compares
Waxhaw's growing season runs about 220 days, ranking 12,725 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NC, it ranks 568 of 1,078.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Waxhaw can differ from the 28173 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Waxhaw's frost date answer different questions.