Fort Wayne, IN Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

Fort Wayne gardeners can count on April 24 as the even-odds date for the last spring frost and October 21 as the even-odds date for the first fall frost, which adds up to 178 days without a freeze in a typical year.

Put May 10 and October 8 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. Among the 100 cities covered here, whose median season is 229 days, Fort Wayne ranks 89th for length and falls 51 days below the middle.

NOAA measured them at Ft Wayne International AP (station USW00014827), about 8.8 miles south of the Census Bureau's internal point for Fort Wayne and about 790 feet above sea level.

When is the last frost in Fort Wayne?

Read the table from the top: a freeze on or after May 10 is a one-in-ten spring, after April 24 is a coin toss, and after April 10 is the usual case.

Only 30 days separate the earliest and latest of these dates, a tighter run than most of the 100 cities here, so the typical date is a fairly dependable guide in Fort Wayne.

First fall frost in Fort Wayne

In Fort Wayne the first freeze has arrived by October 8 in one fall out of ten, by October 21 in five, and by November 1 in nine.

Fall frost keeps to a tight calendar in Fort Wayne: 24 days from the 10% date to the 90% date, less than in most of the 100 cities here.

How long is the frost-free season in Fort Wayne?

A little less room than the middle of these pages, so count the days before you choose a variety. Seasons here barely vary: the typical year gives 178 days and a short one still gives 157 days, only 21 days less, a steadier record than most cities on these pages.

The season lengths come from NOAA's simulated years, not from subtracting one typical date from the other, so the two will not match to the day. At Ft Wayne International AP 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 Fort Wayne

The typical 28°F night comes on November 1 in fall, 11 days after the first 32°F frost, and the last one comes on April 12 in spring, 12 days before the last 32°F frost. One spring in ten still has a 28°F night on or after April 28, and one fall in ten sees the first by October 19.

Using Fort Wayne's frost dates in the garden

In Fort Wayne the University of New Hampshire Extension count lands like this, measured from the typical last frost on April 24: lettuce from March 27 to April 3, cabbage on March 27, seed potatoes from April 10 to April 17, then peppers on May 8 and beans from 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.

Counting from the late date, May 10, instead of the typical one delays every after-frost crop by 16 days. That is the price of a one-in-ten spring that most years will not need.

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 Fort Wayne only 28 of the 34 crops in the fall planner have a last planting day in July or later, and the other 6 would have to go in before then, in spring or early summer. The slowest crop that still fits is broccoli, which needs 98 days before the early first frost and so must be in by July 2.

Worked example: tomatoes in Fort Wayne

A gardener in Fort Wayne 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 17 to May 24 from the late date of May 10, 16 days later.

To have transplants ready on the first day of the late window, sow seeds six to eight weeks earlier, between March 22 and April 5.

Between the last set-out day and the early first frost on October 8 lie 137 days. Tomatoes need 75 to 85 days by NC State Extension's count, so the schedule has 52 days of slack even in an early-frost year.

Where Fort Wayne's numbers are measured

At 8.8 miles south, the station is some distance from Fort Wayne, so parts of the city may not match its record.

NOAA lists it at about 790 feet, higher than 62 and lower than 37 of the 100 stations in this set. NOAA flags this station's record as standard, the code S, for the data behind its 50% last-frost value.

The Census Gazetteer gives no elevation for Fort Wayne itself, so this page cannot tell you whether your garden sits above or below the station. If it is noticeably higher or lower, compare the stations the frost dates tool lists nearby and lean toward the colder reading.

Nearby cities and their frost dates

The nearest city on these pages is Toledo, OH, 90 miles away, and the other two below are farther out, so these are regional comparisons, not neighbors.

• Toledo, OH lies 90 miles north-east of Fort Wayne. Typical last frost April 20, first frost October 27, 188 days between; its last frost comes 4 days before Fort Wayne's, and the frost-free season is 10 days longer than Fort Wayne's.
• Indianapolis, IN lies 105 miles south-west of Fort Wayne. Typical last frost April 20, first frost October 21, 183 days between; its last frost comes 4 days before Fort Wayne's, and the season is about the same length as Fort Wayne's.
• Columbus, OH, 137 miles to the south-east: last frost April 20, first frost October 24, 185 days frost-free; spring frost ends 4 days sooner than in Fort Wayne, and frost-free days differ from Fort Wayne's by less than a week.

Next steps for Fort Wayne gardeners

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 Fort Wayne, and the hardiness zone lookup answers what will overwinter.

All the cities on these pages are listed by state on the city frost dates index.

Where these numbers come from

Every frost and freeze date comes from the station's entry in NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11), with no adjustment, and NOAA's documentation explains what each probability means. Fort Wayne 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 273,203 residents.

The planting dates apply the count rules in University of New Hampshire Extension, NC State Extension and University of Georgia Extension to this station's dates, with nothing added. Our methodology describes the tests behind every number.

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.