Port Hope, MI 48468 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Port Hope, MI, ZIP 48468
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/05, about 250 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/24, about 169 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 Port Hope, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6a around Port Hope 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.
Why 05/05 isn't a guarantee
05/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/21 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Port Hope compares
About 169 days separate Port Hope's last and first frost, putting it 29,596 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MI, it ranks 350 of 1,153.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Port Hope's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Port Hope's dates instead of trusting one.