Wilmington, NC 28412 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Wilmington, NC, ZIP 28412
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/20, about 204 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/15, about 241 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°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 Wilmington, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 8b around Wilmington 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/20 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/28 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Wilmington compares
About 241 days separate Wilmington's last and first frost, putting it 8,497 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NC, it ranks 66 of 1,078.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Wilmington can differ from the 28412 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8b and Wilmington's frost date answer different questions.