McKee, KY 40481 Frost Dates
Frost dates for McKee, KY, ZIP 40481
Around 04/05 is the usual last spring frost, about 220 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/02, about 213 frost-free days later.
Zone 7a (0 to 5°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 McKee, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7a around McKee has about 9 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.
Why 04/05 isn't a guarantee
04/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/20 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/23 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How McKee compares
About 213 days separate McKee's last and first frost, putting it 14,527 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within KY, it ranks 88 of 909.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and McKee's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around McKee's dates instead of trusting one.