Donalds, SC 29638 Frost Dates
29638, near Donalds, SC: the frost window
Around 04/01 is the usual last spring frost, about 216 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/02, roughly 216 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Donalds in Zone 8a (10 to 15°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
Donalds's growing season runs out in roughly 9 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/14 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/18 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Donalds against the rest of the dataset
Donalds's growing season runs about 216 days, ranking 13,898 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within SC, it ranks 456 of 519.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 29638: local microclimates, on what one yard in Donalds can differ from the 29638 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 8a and Donalds's frost date answer different questions.