Saluda, SC 29138 Frost Dates
Saluda, SC: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/31, about 215 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/04, roughly 218 days after the last spring frost.
Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 Saluda, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 10 weeks until Saluda's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 03/31 isn't a guarantee
03/31 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/13 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/15 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Saluda against the rest of the dataset
Saluda's growing season runs about 218 days, ranking 13,272 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within SC, it ranks 445 of 519.
Learn more
Before leaning on 29138's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Saluda can differ from the 29138 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Saluda's frost date answer different questions.