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

In a typical year the final freeze of spring reaches Columbus around March 21, and the first freeze of autumn returns around November 11. NOAA's normals call the frost-free stretch between them 238 days long.

Because half of all years do worse than the typical date, the dates that matter for tender plants are the late spring date, April 9, and the early fall date, October 31, each of which one year in ten fails to beat. At 238 days, Columbus's typical season sits close to the 229 days median of the 100 cities on these pages.

Behind every date on this page is one weather station, Columbus #2 (NOAA USC00092159), 3.7 miles west of Columbus's internal point in the Census Bureau's files and about 440 feet up.

Last spring frost in Columbus

Read the table from the top: a freeze on or after April 9 is a one-in-ten spring, after March 21 is a coin toss, and after February 28 is the usual case.

A span of 40 days from the 90% date to the 10% date is wide for these pages. Spring in Columbus is less predictable than in most of the 100 cities, and the late date is 19 days past the typical one.

Columbus's first fall frost, by chance

In Columbus the first freeze has arrived by October 31 in one fall out of ten, by November 11 in five, and by December 1 in nine.

From the earliest first freeze to the latest is 31 days, close to the middle of the pack.

How long is the frost-free season in Columbus?

The season is about as long as the middle of these pages. Plan on 212 days in a short year, 238 days in a typical one, and as many as 265 days in a long one.

NOAA counts these days from its own simulations, so they will not equal the number of days between the two typical dates exactly. Every winter in the record reached freezing at Columbus #2, so the dates above describe a real yearly event, not a rare one.

When a hard freeze reaches Columbus

Hard freezes are late to arrive in Columbus and early to leave: November 24 in fall, 13 days behind the first frost, and March 6 in spring, 15 days ahead of the last. At the edges, a 28°F night on or after March 26 happens one spring in ten and one by November 6 one fall in ten; the nine-in-ten dates are February 12 and December 21.

What this means for planting in Columbus

The University of New Hampshire Extension sheet times each crop from the last frost. For Columbus's typical date, March 21, that means cabbage on February 21, lettuce from February 21 to February 28, seed potatoes from March 7 to March 14, and, once the frost is behind you, peppers on April 4 and beans on or after March 21. 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 19 days after the typical one; choose it for plants you cannot cover.

Fall crops are counted back from the first frost, using NC State Extension's days to harvest plus University of Georgia Extension's harvest allowance of 18 days. In Columbus only 32 of the 34 crops in the fall planner have a last planting day in July or later, and the other 2 would have to go in before then, in spring or early summer. The slowest crop that still fits is collard greens, at 118 days, and it has to be planted by July 5 to beat the early date.

Worked example: fall broccoli in Columbus

Take fall broccoli in Columbus. NC State Extension lists up to 80 days from transplant to harvest, and University of Georgia Extension adds a harvest allowance of 18 days, so the plants need 98 days before the first frost. Counting back from the typical first frost, November 11, the last planting day is August 5. Counting back from the early date, October 31, it is July 25.

The two answers are only 11 days apart, so in Columbus the choice between the typical and the early date hardly changes the plan.

In spring the same family goes in earlier: counting from March 21, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on February 21, weeks ahead of the last frost.

Where Columbus's numbers are measured

The nearest usable station stands 3.7 miles west of Columbus's internal point, near the city but not in it.

Its elevation is about 440 feet. Of the 100 stations behind these pages, 67 sit higher and 32 lower. In NOAA's file the record is marked R, meaning representative.

No elevation is available for Columbus in the Census data we saved, so the station's height may or may not match your garden's. Compare nearby stations in the frost dates tool if it does not, and err toward the colder dates.

Columbus compared with nearby cities

Of the cities on these pages, Atlanta, GA is closest to Columbus at 90 miles, with two more farther out; none is a close neighbor.

• Atlanta, GA lies 90 miles north of Columbus. Typical last frost March 24, first frost November 8, 231 days between; its last frost falls within a few days of Columbus's, and the season is within about a week of Columbus's.
• Tallahassee, FL (147 miles, south): the last frost is 10 days earlier than in Columbus, and the season runs 17 days longer. Its typical dates are March 11 and November 21, with 255 days frost-free.
• Augusta, GA lies 173 miles east of Columbus. Typical last frost March 23, first frost November 9, 232 days between; spring frost ends about when it does in Columbus, and the season is within about a week of Columbus's.

Put the frost dates to work

Start with the spring planting planner for the whole crop list counted from these dates, and the fall planting planner for the last planting days. The frost dates tool shows every level of risk at this station, and the hardiness zone lookup covers winter survival for shrubs and perennials.

Every city covered is on the city frost dates index, sorted 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

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. The city and its internal point come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer of places, and the ranking by size from the Census Bureau's Vintage 2024 city and town population estimates, which put Columbus at 201,830 people.

Planting dates here are those rules from University of New Hampshire Extension, NC State Extension and University of Georgia Extension, applied to this station's frost dates and nothing else. See how we source every figure for the checks behind them.

These dates describe odds over many years, not next week's weather. Look at the forecast before you plant, and keep a sheet or row cover ready for a night that does not follow the odds.