Rochester, MI 48094 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Rochester, MI, ZIP 48094
Around 04/30 is the usual last spring frost, about 245 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/24, about 174 frost-free days later.
Zone 6a (-10 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 Rochester, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6a around Rochester has about 8 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/16 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/15 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Rochester compares
Rochester's growing season runs about 174 days, ranking 27,398 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MI, it ranks 177 of 1,153.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Rochester can differ from the 48094 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Rochester's frost date answer different questions.