Elko County Frost Dates and Growing Season

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Deeth, 11.5 km from Elko County, elevation 5340 ft

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Deeth. 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 May 23, first September 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.

Threshold	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%	80%	90%
36°F	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
32°F	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
28°F	Jun 11	Jun 5	May 31	May 27	May 23	May 20	May 16	May 12	May 6
24°F	May 22	May 16	May 13	May 9	May 7	May 4	Apr 30	Apr 27	Apr 22
20°F	May 11	May 4	Apr 30	Apr 27	Apr 23	Apr 20	Apr 15	Apr 10	Apr 2
16°F	Apr 27	Apr 20	Apr 15	Apr 10	Apr 5	Apr 1	Mar 26	Mar 19	Mar 12

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	Aug 23	Aug 28	Sep 1	Sep 4	Sep 7	Sep 10	Sep 13	Sep 17	Sep 22
24°F	Sep 4	Sep 10	Sep 14	Sep 17	Sep 20	Sep 22	Sep 27	Oct 1	Oct 6
20°F	Sep 16	Sep 21	Sep 26	Sep 29	Oct 2	Oct 5	Oct 8	Oct 12	Oct 18
16°F	Sep 27	Oct 1	Oct 5	Oct 9	Oct 13	Oct 16	Oct 20	Oct 24	Nov 1

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	61	52	47	42	38	34	30	26	20
32°F	95	88	82	75	71	66	59	52	43
28°F	127	119	114	109	105	100	96	89	80
24°F	156	147	142	138	133	129	124	119	112
20°F	183	176	169	164	159	155	151	145	137
16°F	220	209	202	196	190	185	178	171	162

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: 7,833
Cooling degree days, base 65°F: 155
Growing degree days, base 40°F: 3,364
Growing degree days, base 45°F: 2,385
Growing degree days, base 50°F: 1,579
Growing degree days, base 55°F: 937
Growing degree days, base 60°F: 455

Growing degree days by month, base 50°F

Heating and cooling by month

Month	Heating DD	Cooling DD	Growing DD 50
January	1,316	0	0
February	1,064	0	0
March	879	0	1
April	659	0	13
May	415	1	119
June	182	14	290
July	42	87	510
August	77	50	439
September	288	2	186
October	657	0	22
November	983	0	1
December	1,272	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 11.5 km from Elko County. 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 USC00262189 (Deeth). Public domain.