Elma, WA 98559 Frost Dates
98559, near Elma, WA: the frost window
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/01, roughly 246 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/14, roughly 169 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elma 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
Elma's growing season runs out in roughly 7 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 05/01 isn't a guarantee
05/01 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/11 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/19 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Elma against the rest of the dataset
Elma's growing season runs about 169 days, ranking 29,434 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within WA, it ranks 525 of 700.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 98559: local microclimates, on what one yard in Elma can differ from the 98559 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 8b and Elma's frost date answer different questions.