Banner Elk, NC 28604 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Banner Elk, NC, ZIP 28604
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/06, roughly 251 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/14, about 159 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Banner Elk in Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 6b around Banner Elk has about 7 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
05/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/22 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/23 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Banner Elk compares
About 159 days separate Banner Elk's last and first frost, putting it 32,694 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NC, it ranks 1,061 of 1,078.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Banner Elk's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Banner Elk can differ from the 28604 normal.