Swansboro, NC 28584 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Swansboro, NC?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/26, roughly 210 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/16, about 236 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 Swansboro, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 11 weeks of growing season left in Swansboro before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/05 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Swansboro compares
About 236 days separate Swansboro's last and first frost, putting it 9,427 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NC, it ranks 130 of 1,078.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Swansboro's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Swansboro's dates instead of trusting one.