FrostDateCheck

Sylva, NC 28779 Frost Dates

Sylva, NC: when does the frost end?

Zone 7b

Around 04/16 is the usual last spring frost, about 231 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/24, roughly 189 days after the last spring frost.

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Sylva in Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.

Stretching the season past the first frost

With roughly 8 weeks until Sylva's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.

How much risk comes with planting early here

04/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/01 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/02 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.

Sylva against the rest of the dataset

About 189 days separate Sylva's last and first frost, putting it 21,592 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NC, it ranks 975 of 1,078.

Learn more

Before leaning on 28779's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7b and Sylva's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Sylva's dates instead of trusting one.