Salem, SC 29686 Frost Dates
Salem, SC: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/30, about 245 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/15, roughly 167 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 Salem, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 7 weeks until Salem's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/30 isn't a guarantee
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/13 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/17 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Salem against the rest of the dataset
About 167 days separate Salem's last and first frost, putting it 30,229 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within SC, it ranks 519 of 519.
Learn more
Before leaning on 29686's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Salem's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Salem can differ from the 29686 normal.