Upton, KY 42784 Frost Dates
42784, near Upton, KY: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/21, about 236 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/18, roughly 178 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Upton 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
Upton's growing season runs out in roughly 7 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/21 isn't a guarantee
04/21 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/08 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/06 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Upton against the rest of the dataset
About 178 days separate Upton's last and first frost, putting it 25,849 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within KY, it ranks 813 of 909.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 42784: local microclimates, on what one yard in Upton can differ from the 42784 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 7a and Upton's frost date answer different questions.