South Cle Elum, WA 98943 Frost Dates
98943, near South Cle Elum, WA: the frost window
Around 05/13 is the usual last spring frost, about 258 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 09/25, roughly 132 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts South Cle Elum in Zone 7a (0 to 5°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
South Cle Elum's growing season runs out in roughly 4 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 05/13 isn't a guarantee
05/13 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/29 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 06/01 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
South Cle Elum against the rest of the dataset
South Cle Elum's growing season runs about 132 days, ranking 38,212 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within WA, it ranks 639 of 700.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 98943: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 7a and South Cle Elum's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around South Cle Elum's dates instead of trusting one.