Clayton, IN 46118 Frost Dates
Clayton, IN: when does the frost end?
Around 04/12 is the usual last spring frost, about 227 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/27, roughly 196 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Clayton in Zone 6a (-10 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
With roughly 9 weeks until Clayton's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/12 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/31 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/28 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Clayton against the rest of the dataset
Clayton's growing season runs about 196 days, ranking 19,028 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within IN, it ranks 170 of 927.
Learn more
Before leaning on 46118's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Clayton can differ from the 46118 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Clayton's frost date answer different questions.