Mills River, NC 28742 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Mills River, NC, ZIP 28742
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/17, roughly 232 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/23, about 187 frost-free days later.
Mills River 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 Mills River has about 8 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.
Why 04/17 isn't a guarantee
04/17 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/31 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Mills River compares
Mills River's growing season runs about 187 days, ranking 22,341 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NC, it ranks 983 of 1,078.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Mills River's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Mills River can differ from the 28742 normal.