Augusta, GA Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

The last spring frost in Augusta, GA comes on March 23 in a typical year, and the first fall frost follows on November 9, leaving a frost-free season of 232 days.

Put April 9 and October 28 on the calendar as well. A spring freeze after the first of them, or a fall freeze before the second, happens in only one year out of ten, so those dates cover nine years in ten. Augusta lands within a couple of weeks of the middle of the 100 cities covered here, whose median season is 229 days.

These dates come from the NOAA weather station Augusta Bush Field AP (ID USW00003820), 6.4 miles east of the Census Bureau's internal point for Augusta, at about 130 feet above sea level.

Augusta's last spring frost, by chance

Frost is still possible on February 28 in nine springs out of ten and on March 23 in five; only one spring in ten sees a freeze as late as April 9.

The earliest and latest of these dates are 40 days apart, wider than for most of the 100 cities here. A freeze can still come 17 days after the typical date in Augusta, which is why the late date matters more here than in most places.

When is the first frost in Augusta?

A first freeze on or before October 28 happens one fall in ten. By November 9 half of years have had one, and by November 27 nine years in ten have.

Fall dates in Augusta spread over 30 days, about the same as the middle of the 100 cities on these pages.

The growing season in Augusta

The season is about as long as the middle of these pages. The record runs from 210 days in a short year through 232 days in a typical one to 258 days in a long one, a swing of 22 days below typical that is middling for these pages.

NOAA counts these days from its own simulations, so they will not equal the number of days between the two typical dates exactly. A night at or below 32°F happens in 100% of years at this station, so frost is a yearly event here.

Hard freeze dates for Augusta

Hard freezes are late to arrive in Augusta and early to leave: November 24 in fall, 15 days behind the first frost, and March 8 in spring, 15 days ahead of the last. One spring in ten still has a 28°F night on or after March 28, and one fall in ten sees the first by November 6.

What this means for planting in Augusta

Counting from March 23, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on February 23 and lettuce from February 23 to March 2, ahead of the last frost, and holds peppers until April 6 and beans until March 23 or later. The University of New Hampshire Extension sheet gives peas no frost count at all; sow them as soon as the soil thaws.

Counting from the late date, April 9, instead of the typical one delays every after-frost crop by 17 days. That is the price of a one-in-ten spring that most years will not need.

Of the 34 crops in the fall planner, 32 still have a July-or-later last planting day in Augusta once NC State Extension's days to harvest and University of Georgia Extension's harvest allowance of 18 days are counted back from frost. The other 2 do not. The slowest crop that still fits is collard greens, at 118 days, and it has to be planted by July 2 to beat the early date.

Worked example: the last day for fall broccoli in Augusta

Broccoli transplants need up to 80 days to reach harvest by NC State Extension's table, and University of Georgia Extension adds 18 days to harvest, so 98 days must pass before frost. In Augusta the last planting day is August 3 against the typical first frost on November 9, and July 22 against the early date on October 28.

With only 12 days between the two last days, Augusta gardeners can plan on either without much difference.

Spring is the other end of the same arithmetic: University of New Hampshire Extension sets cabbage-family transplants out two to four weeks before the last frost, which from March 23 puts cabbage out on February 23.

The weather station behind these dates

The station lies 6.4 miles east of Augusta's internal point, farther than most on these pages, so treat its dates as a regional guide.

At about 130 feet, it ranks above 21 and below 78 of the 100 stations used for these pages. NOAA flags this station's record as standard, the code S, for the data behind its 50% last-frost value.

Because the Census file has no elevation for Augusta, we cannot say how far your yard is above or below this station. When yours is clearly higher or lower, open the nearby stations in the frost dates tool and favor the colder one.

How Augusta's frost dates compare

Here is how Augusta, with a last frost on March 23 and a first frost on November 9, compares with the three nearest cities on these pages, the closest being Atlanta, GA at 138 miles. Elevation differs: the station for Atlanta is 710 feet above the one for Augusta, which is worth remembering when you compare them.

• Atlanta, GA, 138 miles to the west: last frost March 24, first frost November 8, 231 days frost-free; its last frost falls within a few days of Augusta's, and frost-free days differ from Augusta's by less than a week.
• Charlotte, NC, 146 miles to the north-east: last frost March 30, first frost November 3, 221 days frost-free; spring frost lingers 7 days longer than in Augusta, and it has 11 days less without frost.
• Columbus, GA lies 173 miles west of Augusta. Typical last frost March 21, first frost November 11, 238 days between; its last frost is nearly the same as Augusta's, and the season is within about a week of Augusta's.

Put the frost dates to work

The frost dates tool opens on this station and lists every probability date, not just the ones above. From there, the spring planting planner and fall planting planner turn the dates into crop lists for Augusta, and the hardiness zone lookup answers what will overwinter.

Looking for another city? The city frost dates index lists every page, grouped by state.

For Georgia, the state planting pages copy the Extension calendar (University of Georgia Cooperative Extension) crop by crop and region by region: tomatoes in Georgia, peppers in Georgia, cucumbers in Georgia, summer squash in Georgia, green beans in Georgia. Set those windows beside the frost dates above.

Where these numbers come from

The frost and freeze dates are NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11), copied from the station's own record without adjustment; NOAA's documentation defines each probability. Augusta and its internal point are listed in the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer of places; its place in the ranking comes from the Vintage 2024 population estimates, which count 201,737 residents.

University of New Hampshire Extension, NC State Extension and University of Georgia Extension supply the planting rules; this page only counts them from the station's dates. Our methodology describes the tests behind every number.

NOAA's dates say how often frost has come, not when it will. Check the forecast before planting and keep a cover on hand.