Creede Frost Dates and Growing Season

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Creede, 0.5 km from Creede, elevation 8852 ft

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Creede. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.

NOAA does not state freeze dates for this station.

Median at 28°F: last June 4, first September 18

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	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
32°F	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
28°F	Jun 21	Jun 14	Jun 9	Jun 6	Jun 4	Jun 1	May 29	May 24	May 18
24°F	Jun 5	May 28	May 21	May 17	May 13	May 10	May 7	May 4	Apr 30
20°F	May 14	May 8	May 5	May 1	Apr 29	Apr 25	Apr 20	Apr 16	Apr 11
16°F	Apr 29	Apr 23	Apr 19	Apr 15	Apr 10	Apr 7	Apr 4	Apr 1	Mar 27

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	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
32°F	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
28°F	Sep 6	Sep 11	Sep 13	Sep 16	Sep 18	Sep 21	Sep 24	Sep 26	Oct 1
24°F	Sep 16	Sep 21	Sep 24	Sep 27	Sep 30	Oct 3	Oct 6	Oct 10	Oct 17
20°F	Sep 28	Oct 3	Oct 7	Oct 11	Oct 15	Oct 18	Oct 21	Oct 25	Oct 30
16°F	Oct 11	Oct 18	Oct 21	Oct 23	Oct 27	Oct 30	Nov 1	Nov 4	Nov 7

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	73	67	61	57	53	49	43	37	30
32°F	99	93	88	84	81	76	72	67	60
28°F	127	120	116	111	107	102	97	92	84
24°F	159	152	146	141	136	132	127	121	113
20°F	192	183	177	172	167	164	158	152	144
16°F	217	211	205	201	197	192	188	182	174

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: 100% of years
20°F or colder: 100% of years
16°F or colder: 100% 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: 8,764
Cooling degree days, base 65°F: 4
Growing degree days, base 40°F: 2,540
Growing degree days, base 45°F: 1,627
Growing degree days, base 50°F: 911
Growing degree days, base 55°F: 390
Growing degree days, base 60°F: 83

Growing degree days by month, base 50°F

Heating and cooling by month

Month	Heating DD	Cooling DD	Growing DD 50
January	1,359	0	0
February	1,106	0	0
March	992	0	0
April	750	0	1
May	538	0	31
June	284	0	176
July	141	3	327
August	190	1	276
September	387	0	93
October	663	0	8
November	1,005	0	0
December	1,349	0	0

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 0.5 km from Creede. Low ground, valleys and open fields freeze earlier and later than a town center or a hillside.

Sources

NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, annual and seasonal normals for station USC00051939 (Creede). Public domain.