Smithland, KY 42083 Frost Dates
42083, near Smithland, KY: the frost window
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/03, roughly 218 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/30, roughly 207 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Smithland in Zone 7a (0 to 5°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
Smithland'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.
Why 04/03 isn't a guarantee
04/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/18 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/21 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Smithland against the rest of the dataset
Smithland's growing season runs about 207 days, ranking 15,882 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within KY, it ranks 185 of 909.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 42083: the frost range, on how to read the range around Smithland's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates, on what one yard in Smithland can differ from the 42083 normal.