Lakewood, WA 98439 Frost Dates
Lakewood, WA: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/08, roughly 192 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/14, roughly 250 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Lakewood in Zone 8b (15 to 20°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 11 weeks until Lakewood's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 03/08 isn't a guarantee
03/08 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 02/15 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/31 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Lakewood against the rest of the dataset
Lakewood's growing season runs about 250 days, ranking 7,443 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within WA, it ranks 87 of 700.
Learn more
Before leaning on 98439's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Lakewood's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Lakewood can differ from the 98439 normal.