Murphy, NC 28902 Frost Dates
Murphy, NC: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/21, about 236 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/21, roughly 182 days after the last spring frost.
Zone 7b (5 to 10°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 Murphy, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 8 weeks until Murphy's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/21 isn't a guarantee
04/21 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/06 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/05 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Murphy against the rest of the dataset
Murphy's growing season runs about 182 days, ranking 24,191 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NC, it ranks 1,007 of 1,078.
Learn more
Before leaning on 28902's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7b and Murphy's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Murphy's dates instead of trusting one.