Frost Dates for 01364 — Orange, Massachusetts

Half of springs at Orange Municipal Airport, MA see their last 32°F night by May 4; only one in ten is past it by April 23, and one in ten still has one after May 17. Planting tender crops after May 9 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after May 13 20%, and after May 17 10%. The 13 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is narrower than at 51% of the 71 Massachusetts stations behind this site's ZIP pages.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by October 8 in half of years, as early as September 27 one year in ten, and holds off past October 23 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 12 days later, around October 20; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is May 6, 11 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 157 days in a typical year, shorter than at 85% of the 71 Massachusetts stations; it reaches 175 days one year in ten and falls short of 139 one year in ten. On average 161 nights a year drop to 32°F or below. Nights of 36°F, when frost can still settle on leaves in low, open spots, continue 12 days longer, to about May 16, and return around September 28. Severe cold of 16°F or below comes every winter, usually between November 26 and March 20.

July is the warmest month at Orange Municipal Airport, MA, averaging 84°F by day and 60°F at night; January is the coldest at 33°F and 14°F. A freezing night is all but certain in every month from October to April (a 90% chance or more). From June to August the chance of a 32°F night stays under 10% each month. In spring, May still brings one in 64% of years.

Warmth for growing adds up to 2,634 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), fewer than at 54% of the 71 Massachusetts stations. 32% of them (830) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 683. Precipitation totals 42.1 inches a year, most in September (4.3") and least in February (2.3"); May to September bring 46% of it.

The nearest other station, Tully Lake, MA, 4 miles northeast of Orange, has a last frost 9 days earlier (April 25), a first frost 9 days later (October 17), a season 18 days longer.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Orange usually arrives around November 28, and the last of the season around April 1. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Tully Lake, MA, 4.4 miles away: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Every one of those winters saw snow. The last 32°F night of spring typically comes 33 days after the last snow.

ZIP 01364 is 2 miles from Orange Municipal Airport, MA, which stands at 555 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 01364 in zone 5b, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged -15 to -10°F (-26.1 to -23.3°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.