Frost Dates for 63703 — Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Half of springs at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport, MO see their last 32°F night by April 5; only one in ten is past it by March 19, and one in ten still has one after April 21. Planting tender crops after April 12 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after April 16 20%, and after April 21 10%. The 16 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is narrower than at 35% of the 158 Missouri stations behind this site's ZIP pages.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by October 25 in half of years, as early as October 12 one year in ten, and holds off past November 6 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 10 days later, around November 4; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is April 11, 10 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 201 days in a typical year, longer than at 72% of the 158 Missouri stations; it reaches 223 days one year in ten and falls short of 182 one year in ten. On average 90 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 17, and return around October 16. Severe cold of 16°F or below comes every winter, usually between December 17 and February 19.

July is the warmest month at Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport, MO, averaging 89°F by day and 69°F at night; January is the coldest at 43°F and 26°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 63% of years.

Warmth for growing adds up to 4,462 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), more than at 88% of the 158 Missouri stations. 39% of them (1,731) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 907. Precipitation totals 48.0 inches a year, most in May (5.3") and least in August (3.2"); May to September bring 41% of it.

The nearest other station, Jackson, MO, 9 miles northwest of Cape Girardeau, has a last frost 2 days later (April 7), a first frost 4 days later (October 29), a season 1 day longer.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Cape Girardeau usually arrives around January 1, and the last of the season around February 7. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Jackson, MO, 9.2 miles away: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Snow fell in 90% of those winters. The last 32°F night of spring typically comes 57 days after the last snow.

ZIP 63703 is 5 miles from Cape Girardeau Municipal Airport, MO, which stands at 336 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. 4 other ZIP codes share the station. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 63703 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.