Owensboro, KY 42301 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Owensboro, KY?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/02, about 217 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/01, about 211 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 Owensboro, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Owensboro before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/02 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/17 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/20 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Owensboro compares
At roughly 211 frost-free days, Owensboro places 14,710 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within KY, it ranks 103 of 909.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Owensboro can differ from the 42301 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 7a and Owensboro's frost date answer different questions.