Buffalo, NY Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

Frost leaves Buffalo on April 24 and comes back on October 26 when the odds are even, a window of 183 days for tender plants.

Put May 9 and October 10 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. Against the 100-city median of 229 days, Buffalo has 46 days less room before frost returns.

NOAA measured them at Buffalo (station USW00014733), about 7.3 miles north-east of the Census Bureau's internal point for Buffalo and about 690 feet above sea level.

Buffalo's last spring frost, by chance

NOAA gives April 11 as the date a spring freeze is still ahead in nine years out of ten, April 24 as the date it is still ahead in half of them, and May 9 as the date only one year in ten passes.

From the 90% date to the 10% date is 28 days, a short span next to most cities here, which makes the spring calendar in Buffalo steadier than average.

First fall frost in Buffalo

In Buffalo the first freeze has arrived by October 10 in one fall out of ten, by October 26 in five, and by November 9 in nine.

The early and late fall dates are 30 days apart, a typical spread for the cities covered here.

Buffalo's frost-free season

The season is somewhat shorter than the middle of these pages, so a seed packet's days to maturity deserve a second look. There is little difference between a typical season (183 days) and a short one (163 days) in Buffalo: 20 days, less than in most of the cities covered here.

NOAA counts these days from its own simulations, so they will not equal the number of days between the two typical dates exactly. At Buffalo a night at or below 32°F turns up in 100% of years, which means these dates apply every winter.

When a hard freeze reaches Buffalo

Between a light frost and a hard freeze there is little room in Buffalo: the typical 28°F dates are November 6 and April 13, just 11 days and 11 days from the 32°F dates. One spring in ten still has a 28°F night on or after April 27, and one fall in ten sees the first by October 25.

Using Buffalo's frost dates in the garden

University of New Hampshire Extension sorts vegetables by how they cope with cold. Cool-season crops go out before the last frost: counting from April 24, cabbage transplants go in on March 27 and lettuce from March 27 to April 3. Tender crops wait until it has passed, with peppers going out on May 8 and beans sown on or after April 24. Peas are the exception to the count: University of New Hampshire Extension says to plant them as soon as the soil thaws, whatever the frost date.

The late date comes 15 days after the typical one; choose it for plants you cannot cover.

Of the 34 crops in the fall planner, 28 still have a July-or-later last planting day in Buffalo 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 6 do not. Of the crops that fit, broccoli is the slowest: 98 days from planting to the early frost, which makes July 4 its last day.

Worked example: a tomato plan for Buffalo

A gardener in Buffalo who follows University of New Hampshire Extension sets tomato transplants out one to two weeks after the last frost: May 1 to May 8 from the typical date of April 24, or May 16 to May 23 from the late date of May 9, 15 days later.

To have transplants ready on the first day of the late window, sow seeds six to eight weeks earlier, between March 21 and April 4.

Between the last set-out day and the early first frost on October 10 lie 140 days. Tomatoes need 75 to 85 days by NC State Extension's count, so the schedule has 55 days of slack even in an early-frost year.

Where Buffalo's numbers are measured

At 7.3 miles north-east, the station is some distance from Buffalo, so parts of the city may not match its record.

NOAA lists it at about 690 feet, higher than 52 and lower than 47 of the 100 stations in this set. Its completeness flag is S, which NOAA uses for a standard record.

Because the Census file has no elevation for Buffalo, 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.

Nearby cities and their frost dates

The nearest city on these pages is Rochester, NY, 66 miles away, and the other two below are farther out, so these are regional comparisons, not neighbors.

• Rochester, NY (66 miles, east): its last frost is nearly the same as Buffalo's, and the season is within about a week of Buffalo's. Its typical dates are April 24 and October 25, with 181 days frost-free.
• Cleveland, OH (174 miles, south-west): spring frost ends 16 days sooner than in Buffalo, and the frost-free season is 34 days longer than Buffalo's. Its typical dates are April 8 and November 12, with 217 days frost-free.
• Pittsburgh, PA, 179 miles to the south: last frost April 18, first frost October 28, 193 days frost-free; its last frost comes 6 days before Buffalo's, and the frost-free season is 10 days longer than Buffalo'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 Buffalo, and the hardiness zone lookup answers what will overwinter.

Every city covered is on the city frost dates index, sorted by state.

Where these numbers come from

NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11) supply every frost date here, unchanged from the station's record, and NOAA's documentation defines the probabilities. Buffalo 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 276,617 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. See how we source every figure for the checks behind them.

Frost dates are long-term odds, not a forecast. Before you plant, check the local forecast for the coming week, and keep row cover or old sheets handy for the nights the odds get wrong.