Frost Dates for 04426 — Dover Foxcroft, Maine

Half of springs at Dover-Foxcroft Wwtp, ME see their last 32°F night by May 15; only one in ten is past it by April 30, and one in ten still has one after May 28. Planting tender crops after May 20 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after May 24 20%, and after May 28 10%. The 13 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is narrower than at 33% of the 52 Maine stations behind this site's ZIP pages.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by September 28 in half of years, as early as September 15 one year in ten, and holds off past October 9 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 11 days later, around October 9; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is May 16, 12 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 134 days in a typical year, shorter than at 88% of the 52 Maine stations; it reaches 153 days one year in ten and falls short of 116 one year in ten. On average 188 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 13 days longer, to about May 28, and return around September 18. Severe cold of 16°F or below comes every winter, usually between November 16 and April 3.

July is the warmest month at Dover-Foxcroft Wwtp, ME, averaging 80°F by day and 55°F at night; January is the coldest at 26°F and 3°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 89% of years.

Warmth for growing adds up to 1,835 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), fewer than at 79% of the 52 Maine stations. 28% of them (506) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 541. Precipitation totals 44.9 inches a year, most in October (4.8") and least in February (2.8"); May to September bring 41% of it.

The nearest other station, Sebec Lake, ME, 4 miles northwest of Dover Foxcroft, has a last frost 1 day later (May 16), a first frost 3 days later (October 1), a season 1 day longer.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Dover Foxcroft usually arrives around November 11, and the last of the season around April 8. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Dover-Foxcroft Wwtp, ME, 0.6 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 37 days after the last snow.

ZIP 04426 is under a mile from Dover-Foxcroft Wwtp, ME, which stands at 370 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 04426 in zone 5a, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged -20 to -15°F (-28.9 to -26.1°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.