Lexington, KY Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

In a typical year the final freeze of spring reaches Lexington around April 13, and the first freeze of autumn returns around October 28. NOAA's normals call the frost-free stretch between them 196 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, May 1, and the early fall date, October 16, each of which one year in ten fails to beat. Against the 100-city median of 229 days, Lexington has 33 days less room before frost returns.

Behind every date on this page is one weather station, Lexington Bluegrass AP (NOAA USW00093820), 8.0 miles west of Lexington's internal point in the Census Bureau's files and about 980 feet up.

When is the last frost in Lexington?

Read the table from the top: a freeze on or after May 1 is a one-in-ten spring, after April 13 is a coin toss, and after March 30 is the usual case.

From the earliest date to the latest is 32 days, a middling band against the other 100 cities.

Lexington's first fall frost, by chance

NOAA's early fall date for Lexington is October 16, its even-odds date is October 28 and its late date is November 8; the first freeze has come by each of them in one, five and nine years out of ten.

Just 23 days separate the early and late dates, tighter than most cities on these pages.

Lexington's frost-free season

That is shorter than most places on these pages, so days to maturity on the seed packet matter more than usual. Seasons here barely vary: the typical year gives 196 days and a short one still gives 175 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. A night at or below 32°F happens in 100% of years at this station, so frost is a yearly event here.

28°F dates in Lexington

Between a light frost and a hard freeze there is little room in Lexington: the typical 28°F dates are November 6 and March 31, just 9 days and 13 days from the 32°F dates. One spring in ten still has a 28°F night on or after April 16, and one fall in ten sees the first by October 25.

Using Lexington'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 13, cabbage transplants go in on March 16 and lettuce from March 16 to March 23. Tender crops wait until it has passed, with peppers going out on April 27 and beans sown on or after April 13. 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 18 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 Lexington only 29 of the 34 crops in the fall planner have a last planting day in July or later, and the other 5 would have to go in before then, in spring or early summer. The slowest crop that still fits is Chinese cabbage, which needs 103 days before the early first frost and so must be in by July 5.

Worked example: a tomato plan for Lexington

Suppose you want tomatoes in Lexington. University of New Hampshire Extension says to set transplants out one to two weeks after the last frost. Counting from the typical date, April 13, the window runs from April 20 to April 27. Counting from the late date, May 1, it moves to May 8 through May 15, which is 18 days later.

Indoors, tomato seeds go in six to eight weeks ahead of set-out; from the first day of the late window that is March 13 to March 27.

Between the last set-out day and the early first frost on October 16 lie 154 days. Tomatoes need 75 to 85 days by NC State Extension's count, so the schedule has 69 days of slack even in an early-frost year.

The weather station behind these dates

The station lies 8.0 miles west of Lexington's internal point, farther than most on these pages, so treat its dates as a regional guide.

NOAA lists it at about 980 feet, higher than 69 and lower than 30 of the 100 stations in this set. In NOAA's file the record is marked S, meaning standard.

No elevation is available for Lexington 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.

Nearby cities and their frost dates

Of the cities on these pages, Louisville, KY is closest to Lexington at 65 miles, with two more farther out; none is a close neighbor.

• Louisville, KY (65 miles, west): the last frost is 7 days earlier than in Lexington, and it has 13 days more without frost. Its typical dates are April 6 and November 1, with 209 days frost-free.
• Cincinnati, OH (76 miles, north): its last frost falls within a few days of Lexington's, and the season is within about a week of Lexington's. Its typical dates are April 16 and October 25, with 190 days frost-free.
• Indianapolis, IN lies 150 miles north-west of Lexington. Typical last frost April 20, first frost October 21, 183 days between; the last frost is 7 days later than in Lexington, and it has 13 days less without frost.

Take these dates further

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.

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

For Kentucky, the state planting pages copy the Extension calendar (University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension) crop by crop and region by region: tomatoes in Kentucky, peppers in Kentucky, cucumbers in Kentucky, summer squash in Kentucky, green beans in Kentucky. 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 Lexington at 329,437 people.

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.

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.