Frost Dates for 21850 — Pittsville, Maryland

Half of springs at Salisbury Wicomico Regional Airport, MD see their last 32°F night by April 10; only one in ten is past it by March 28, and one in ten still has one after April 30. Planting tender crops after April 17 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after April 21 20%, and after April 30 10%. The 20 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is wider than at 88% of the 50 Maryland stations behind this site's ZIP pages.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by October 30 in half of years, as early as October 15 one year in ten, and holds off past November 12 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 10 days later, around November 9; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is April 13, 17 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 201 days in a typical year, shorter than at 56% of the 50 Maryland stations; it reaches 221 days one year in ten and falls short of 177 one year in ten. On average 94 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 16 days longer, to about April 26, and return around October 20. Severe cold of 16°F or below comes in 97% of winters, usually between December 30 and February 16.

July is the warmest month at Salisbury Wicomico Regional Airport, MD, averaging 88°F by day and 68°F at night; January is the coldest at 46°F and 28°F. A freezing night is all but certain in every month from November to March (a 90% chance or more). From May to September the chance of a 32°F night stays under 10% each month. In spring, April still brings one in 81% of years.

Warmth for growing adds up to 4,056 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), more than at 66% of the 50 Maryland stations. 35% of them (1,404) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 865. Precipitation totals 47.6 inches a year, most in August (5.3") and least in November (3.2"); May to September bring 47% of it.

The nearest other station, Snow Hill 4 N, MD, 10 miles south of Pittsville, has the same 50% last-frost date, a first frost 1 day later (October 31), a season 1 day longer.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Pittsville usually arrives around January 2, and the last of the season around March 5. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Salisbury Wicomico Regional Airport, MD, 6.6 miles away: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Snow fell in 94% of those winters. The last 32°F night of spring typically comes 36 days after the last snow.

ZIP 21850 is 7 miles from Salisbury Wicomico Regional Airport, MD, which stands at 48 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. 1 other ZIP code shares the station; its figures are presented in full for 21849 (Parsonsburg). The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 21850 in zone 7b, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged 5 to 10°F (-15.0 to -12.2°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.