Frost Dates for 28605 — Blowing Rock, North Carolina

Half of springs at Blowing Rock 1NW, NC see their last 32°F night by April 25; only one in ten is past it by April 8, and one in ten still has one after May 12. Planting tender crops after May 3 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after May 6 20%, and after May 12 10%. The 17 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is wider than at 65% of the 173 North Carolina stations behind this site's ZIP pages.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by October 21 in half of years, as early as October 6 one year in ten, and holds off past November 3 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 9 days later, around October 30; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is May 3, 9 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 178 days in a typical year, shorter than at 94% of the 173 North Carolina stations; it reaches 200 days one year in ten and falls short of 155 one year in ten. On average 120 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 7, and return around October 11. Severe cold of 16°F or below comes every winter, usually between December 1 and March 15.

July is the warmest month at Blowing Rock 1NW, NC, averaging 77°F by day and 60°F at night; January is the coldest at 39°F and 21°F. A freezing night is all but certain in every month from November to April (a 90% chance or more). From June to September the chance of a 32°F night stays under 10% each month. In spring, May still brings one in 38% of years.

Warmth for growing adds up to 2,389 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), fewer than at 98% of the 173 North Carolina stations. 34% of them (811) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 570.

The nearest other station, Boone 1 SE, NC, 6 miles northeast of Blowing Rock and 750 feet lower, has a last frost 7 days later (May 2), a first frost 8 days earlier (October 13), a season 15 days shorter.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Blowing Rock usually arrives around November 22, and the last of the season around April 6. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Blowing Rock 1NW, NC, 1.3 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 19 days after the last snow.

ZIP 28605 is 1 mile from Blowing Rock 1NW, NC, which stands at 3,850 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 28605 in zone 6b, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged -5 to 0°F (-20.6 to -17.8°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.