FrostDateCheck

Townsend, TN 37886 Frost Dates

Frost dates for Townsend, TN, ZIP 37886

Zone 7b

The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/20, about 235 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/22, about 185 frost-free days later.

Townsend sits in USDA Zone 7b (5 to 10°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.

What to do before the first frost

Zone 7b around Townsend has about 8 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.

How much risk comes with planting early here

04/20 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/10 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Townsend compares

Townsend's growing season runs about 185 days, ranking 23,268 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within TN, it ranks 718 of 770.

Learn more

zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7b and Townsend's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Townsend's dates instead of trusting one.