Palatka, FL 32178 Frost Dates
32178, near Palatka, FL: the frost window
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/01, roughly 185 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 12/07, roughly 284 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Palatka in Zone 9b (25 to 30°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
Palatka's growing season runs out in roughly 14 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
03/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 01/29 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/22 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Palatka against the rest of the dataset
Palatka's growing season runs about 284 days, ranking 4,683 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within FL, it ranks 1,373 of 1,609.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 32178: local microclimates, on what one yard in Palatka can differ from the 32178 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 9b and Palatka's frost date answer different questions.