Charlotte, NC 28221 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Charlotte, NC, ZIP 28221
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/30, about 214 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/03, about 221 frost-free days later.
Charlotte 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
Zone 8a around Charlotte 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.
Why 03/30 isn't a guarantee
03/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/12 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Charlotte compares
At roughly 221 frost-free days, Charlotte places 12,386 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NC, it ranks 484 of 1,078.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Charlotte's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Charlotte can differ from the 28221 normal.