Port Townsend, WA 98339 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Port Townsend, WA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/01, about 185 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/28, about 274 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 Port Townsend, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 13 weeks of growing season left in Port Townsend 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
03/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/03 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/23 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Port Townsend compares
Port Townsend's growing season runs about 274 days, ranking 5,152 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within WA, it ranks 12 of 700.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Port Townsend's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Port Townsend's dates instead of trusting one.