Humphrey Frost Dates and Growing Season
Frost and the growing season
NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Stuttgart 9 Ese. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.
The last spring freeze typically comes around March 11 and the first fall freeze around November 17, a growing season of about 250 days.
- Median at 36°F
- last March 23, first November 5
- Median at 32°F
- last March 11, first November 17
- Median at 28°F
- last February 28, first December 1
Last freeze in spring
The chance of a later freeze than the date shown. At 10 percent, one spring in ten still freezes after the date; planting after the 10 percent date for 32°F is the cautious choice.
| Threshold | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | Apr 9 | Apr 4 | Mar 31 | Mar 28 | Mar 23 | Mar 19 | Mar 16 | Mar 11 | Mar 4 |
| 32°F | Mar 31 | Mar 24 | Mar 18 | Mar 15 | Mar 11 | Mar 7 | Mar 3 | Feb 28 | Feb 21 |
| 28°F | Mar 19 | Mar 13 | Mar 8 | Mar 4 | Feb 28 | Feb 25 | Feb 19 | Feb 11 | Feb 2 |
| 24°F | Mar 9 | Mar 2 | Feb 26 | Feb 21 | Feb 14 | Feb 7 | Feb 1 | Jan 27 | Jan 14 |
| 20°F | Feb 28 | Feb 18 | Feb 9 | Feb 2 | Jan 29 | Jan 23 | Jan 18 | Jan 11 | Jan 1 |
| 16°F | Feb 19 | Feb 8 | Feb 1 | Jan 28 | Jan 22 | Jan 17 | Jan 12 | Jan 6 | Dec 31 |
First freeze in fall
The chance of an earlier freeze than the date shown. At 10 percent, one fall in ten freezes before the date.
| Threshold | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | Oct 23 | Oct 27 | Oct 31 | Nov 2 | Nov 5 | Nov 9 | Nov 13 | Nov 17 | Nov 22 |
| 32°F | Oct 31 | Nov 5 | Nov 9 | Nov 13 | Nov 17 | Nov 21 | Nov 26 | Dec 1 | Dec 6 |
| 28°F | Nov 8 | Nov 15 | Nov 21 | Nov 27 | Dec 1 | Dec 5 | Dec 11 | Dec 20 | Dec 30 |
| 24°F | Nov 23 | Dec 2 | Dec 9 | Dec 17 | Dec 25 | Dec 29 | Jan 2 | Jan 8 | Jan 18 |
| 20°F | Dec 8 | Dec 17 | Dec 25 | Dec 30 | Jan 4 | Jan 8 | Jan 15 | Jan 22 | Feb 1 |
| 16°F | Dec 15 | Dec 28 | Jan 2 | Jan 7 | Jan 12 | Jan 17 | Jan 23 | Feb 1 | Feb 9 |
Growing season length
Days between the last spring and first fall freeze at each threshold, with the chance of a season at least that long.
| Threshold | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | 250 | 242 | 235 | 230 | 226 | 222 | 217 | 210 | 203 |
| 32°F | 275 | 267 | 261 | 255 | 250 | 244 | 238 | 232 | 224 |
| 28°F | 310 | 299 | 291 | 283 | 276 | 270 | 262 | 256 | 245 |
| 24°F | 346 | 333 | 325 | 317 | 311 | 304 | 296 | 286 | 273 |
| 20°F | 365 | 364 | 355 | 346 | 340 | 333 | 326 | 316 | 304 |
| 16°F | 365 | 365 | 365 | 365 | 365 | 359 | 350 | 342 | 328 |
How often it gets that cold
The share of years with at least one night at or below each temperature.
- 36°F or colder
- 100% of years
- 32°F or colder
- 100% of years
- 28°F or colder
- 100% of years
- 24°F or colder
- 97% of years
- 20°F or colder
- 82% of years
- 16°F or colder
- 48% of years
Degree days
A degree day is one degree of the daily mean temperature beyond a base, for one day. Heating degree days count cold (the fuel a house burns), cooling degree days heat, growing degree days the warmth a crop needs; each crop has its own base.
- Heating degree days, base 65°F
- 2,886
- Cooling degree days, base 65°F
- 2,236
- Growing degree days, base 40°F
- 8,684
- Growing degree days, base 45°F
- 7,096
- Growing degree days, base 50°F
- 5,652
- Growing degree days, base 55°F
- 4,359
- Growing degree days, base 60°F
- 3,221
Growing degree days by month, base 50°F
Heating and cooling by month
| Month | Heating DD | Cooling DD | Growing DD 50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 720 | 1 | 32 |
| February | 534 | 2 | 63 |
| March | 353 | 14 | 192 |
| April | 129 | 70 | 400 |
| May | 19 | 240 | 687 |
| June | 0 | 443 | 892 |
| July | 0 | 538 | 1,003 |
| August | 0 | 502 | 967 |
| September | 9 | 316 | 757 |
| October | 119 | 99 | 451 |
| November | 375 | 12 | 158 |
| December | 630 | 1 | 50 |
What this means
NOAA computes these from the daily lows at the station over 1991-2020, fitting the dates of each year's last and first freeze to a distribution, so a date can be stated at any level of risk. 36°F is a frost risk for tender plants on a clear, calm night, since the ground cools below the air above it; 32°F is a freeze; 28°F is a hard freeze that kills most annuals.
The station is 27.1 km from Humphrey. Low ground, valleys and open fields freeze earlier and later than a town center or a hillside.
More
Sources
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, annual and seasonal normals for station USC00036920 (Stuttgart 9 Ese). Public domain.