Charlotte, NC 28224 Frost Dates
Charlotte, NC: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/30, about 214 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/03, roughly 221 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Charlotte in Zone 8a (10 to 15°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 10 weeks until Charlotte's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/12 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/14 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Charlotte against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 221 frost-free days, Charlotte places 12,388 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NC, it ranks 486 of 1,078.
Learn more
Before leaning on 28224's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Charlotte can differ from the 28224 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Charlotte's frost date answer different questions.