Bethune, SC 29009 Frost Dates
Bethune, SC: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/23, about 207 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/14, roughly 237 days after the last spring frost.
Bethune sits in USDA Zone 8a (10 to 15°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.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 11 weeks until Bethune'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
03/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/05 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/07 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Bethune against the rest of the dataset
Bethune's growing season runs about 237 days, ranking 9,161 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within SC, it ranks 251 of 519.
Learn more
Before leaning on 29009's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Bethune can differ from the 29009 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Bethune's frost date answer different questions.