FrostDateCheck

Carthage, NC 28327 Frost Dates

Frost dates for Carthage, NC, ZIP 28327

Zone 8a

The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/25, about 209 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/14, about 235 frost-free days later.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Carthage in Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 8a around Carthage has about 11 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 03/25 isn't a guarantee

03/25 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/06 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/10 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Carthage compares

At roughly 235 frost-free days, Carthage places 9,606 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NC, it ranks 146 of 1,078.

Learn more

zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Carthage's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Carthage's dates instead of trusting one.