Highlands, NC 28717 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Highlands, NC, ZIP 28717
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/15, about 167 frost-free days later.
Highlands sits in USDA Zone 7a (0 to 5°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7a around Highlands 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
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/13 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/17 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Highlands compares
About 167 days separate Highlands's last and first frost, putting it 30,071 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NC, it ranks 1,041 of 1,078.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Highlands's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Highlands can differ from the 28717 normal.