Kinston, NC 28502 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Kinston, NC?
Around 03/25 is the usual last spring frost, about 209 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/11, about 232 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 Kinston, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 11 weeks of growing season left in Kinston before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 03/25 isn't a guarantee
03/25 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/09 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/07 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Kinston compares
At roughly 232 frost-free days, Kinston places 10,033 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NC, it ranks 179 of 1,078.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Kinston's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Kinston can differ from the 28502 normal.