Salem, OR 97302 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Salem, OR?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/03, about 218 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/01, about 212 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°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 Salem, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 9 weeks of growing season left in Salem 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
04/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/10 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/27 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Salem compares
About 212 days separate Salem's last and first frost, putting it 14,549 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within OR, it ranks 194 of 463.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Salem's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Salem can differ from the 97302 normal.