Highlands County climate

Highlands County Frost Dates and Growing Season

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Archbold Bio Stn, 17.9 km from Highlands County, elevation 140 ft

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Archbold Bio Stn. 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 February 26 and the first fall freeze around December 22, a growing season of about 300 days.

Median at 36°F
last March 19, first December 3
Median at 32°F
last February 26, first December 22
Median at 28°F
last February 4, first January 7

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.

Threshold10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
36°FApr 16Apr 7Apr 1Mar 26Mar 19Mar 12Mar 5Feb 25Feb 11
32°FMar 28Mar 18Mar 10Mar 3Feb 26Feb 18Feb 10Feb 1Jan 20
28°FMar 9Feb 27Feb 20Feb 11Feb 4Jan 30Jan 22Jan 11Jan 1
24°FFeb 26Feb 14Feb 5Jan 31Jan 23Jan 17Jan 10Jan 4Dec 31
20°FFeb 9Jan 31Jan 27Jan 21Jan 15Jan 10Jan 7Jan 3Dec 29
16°F–––––––––

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.

Threshold10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
36°FNov 11Nov 19Nov 25Nov 30Dec 3Dec 7Dec 14Dec 23Jan 2
32°FNov 27Dec 2Dec 7Dec 15Dec 22Dec 29Jan 4Jan 14Jan 27
28°FDec 6Dec 20Dec 29Jan 2Jan 7Jan 14Jan 22Jan 31Feb 8
24°FDec 21Dec 31Jan 3Jan 7Jan 13Jan 21Jan 28Feb 3Feb 20
20°FDec 26Jan 1Jan 5Jan 8Jan 11Jan 18Jan 24Jan 29Feb 5
16°F–––––––––

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.

Threshold10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
36°F303288280272264257248239227
32°F338326314306300291283274259
28°F365362347339333325315305292
24°F365365365365363351341332318
20°F365365365365365365365362342
16°F365365365365365365365365365

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
98% of years
28°F or colder
85% of years
24°F or colder
53% of years
20°F or colder
22% of years
16°F or colder
5% 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
517
Cooling degree days, base 65°F
3,412
Growing degree days, base 40°F
12,022
Growing degree days, base 45°F
10,204
Growing degree days, base 50°F
8,404
Growing degree days, base 55°F
6,648
Growing degree days, base 60°F
4,969

Growing degree days by month, base 50°F

Heating and cooling by month

MonthHeating DDCooling DDGrowing DD 50
January16857370
February10380404
March65129530
April17218651
May2350814
June0463914
July0518983
August0532997
September0471921
October6339798
November42158566
December11497456

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 17.9 km from Highlands County. Low ground, valleys and open fields freeze earlier and later than a town center or a hillside.

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Sources

NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, annual and seasonal normals for station USC00080236 (Archbold Bio Stn). Public domain.