Oviedo Frost Dates and Growing Season

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Orlando Sanford AP, 12.7 km from Oviedo, elevation 55 ft

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Orlando Sanford AP. 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 January 24 and the first fall freeze around January 9, a growing season of about 352 days.

Median at 36°F: last February 7, first January 1
Median at 32°F: last January 24, first January 9
Median at 28°F: last January 14, first January 11

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	Mar 8	Feb 27	Feb 21	Feb 13	Feb 7	Feb 2	Jan 27	Jan 18	Jan 8
32°F	Feb 23	Feb 12	Feb 3	Jan 30	Jan 24	Jan 17	Jan 11	Jan 5	Dec 29
28°F	Feb 8	Jan 31	Jan 26	Jan 20	Jan 14	Jan 11	Jan 8	Jan 4	Dec 30
24°F	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
20°F	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
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.

Threshold	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%	80%	90%
36°F	Dec 4	Dec 11	Dec 19	Dec 26	Jan 1	Jan 6	Jan 12	Jan 18	Jan 29
32°F	Dec 15	Dec 24	Dec 31	Jan 4	Jan 9	Jan 13	Jan 19	Jan 27	Feb 6
28°F	Dec 24	Dec 30	Jan 4	Jan 8	Jan 11	Jan 15	Jan 21	Jan 27	Feb 7
24°F	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
20°F	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
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.

Threshold	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%	80%	90%
36°F	354	342	332	325	318	311	305	298	286
32°F	365	365	365	359	352	343	335	326	314
28°F	365	365	365	365	365	365	365	360	341
24°F	365	365	365	365	365	365	365	365	365
20°F	365	365	365	365	365	365	365	365	365
16°F	365	365	365	365	365	365	365	365	365

How often it gets that cold

The share of years with at least one night at or below each temperature.

36°F or colder: 94% of years
32°F or colder: 64% of years
28°F or colder: 23% of years
24°F or colder: 3% of years
20°F or colder: 0% of years
16°F or colder: 0% 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: 557
Cooling degree days, base 65°F: 3,554
Growing degree days, base 40°F: 12,123
Growing degree days, base 45°F: 10,305
Growing degree days, base 50°F: 8,503
Growing degree days, base 55°F: 6,746
Growing degree days, base 60°F: 5,082

Growing degree days by month, base 50°F

Heating and cooling by month

Month	Heating DD	Cooling DD	Growing DD 50
January	188	47	341
February	115	63	373
March	57	123	531
April	11	230	669
May	0	396	860
June	0	506	956
July	0	575	1,040
August	0	575	1,040
September	0	492	942
October	7	334	792
November	44	140	546
December	136	76	414

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 12.7 km from Oviedo. 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 USW00012854 (Orlando Sanford AP). Public domain.