Frost Dates for 40419 — Crab Orchard, Kentucky

Half of springs at Crab Orchard 6 N, KY see their last 32°F night by April 18; only one in ten is past it by March 31, and one in ten still has one after May 9. Planting tender crops after April 26 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after May 2 20%, and after May 9 10%. The 21 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is wider than at 96% of the 113 Kentucky stations behind this site's ZIP pages, so a fixed calendar date is a gamble here.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by October 24 in half of years, as early as October 9 one year in ten, and holds off past November 5 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 8 days later, around November 1; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is April 23, 16 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 188 days in a typical year, shorter than at 67% of the 113 Kentucky stations; it reaches 210 days one year in ten and falls short of 163 one year in ten. On average 91 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 April 30, and return around October 13. Severe cold of 16°F or below comes every winter, usually between December 8 and February 27.

July is the warmest month at Crab Orchard 6 N, KY, averaging 86°F by day and 65°F at night; January is the coldest at 45°F and 27°F. A freezing night is all but certain in every month from November to March (a 90% chance or more). From June to September the chance of a 32°F night stays under 10% each month. In spring, April still brings one in 86% of years and May still brings one in 24% of years.

Warmth for growing adds up to 4,051 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), more than at 53% of the 113 Kentucky stations. 38% of them (1,559) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 784. Precipitation totals 50.4 inches a year, most in July (5.2") and least in February (3.5"); May to September bring 45% of it.

The nearest other station, Mt Vernon, KY, 11 miles southeast of Crab Orchard, has the same 50% last-frost date, the same first-frost date, a season 1 day longer.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Crab Orchard usually arrives around January 4, and the last of the season around February 15. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Crab Orchard 6 N, KY, 3.6 miles away: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Snow fell in 82% of those winters. The last 32°F night of spring typically comes 62 days after the last snow.

ZIP 40419 is 4 miles from Crab Orchard 6 N, KY, which stands at 1,025 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. 1 other ZIP code shares the station. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 40419 in zone 7a, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged 0 to 5°F (-17.8 to -15.0°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.