New York, NY Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

In a typical year the final freeze of spring reaches New York around April 1, and the first freeze of autumn returns around November 19. NOAA's normals call the frost-free stretch between them 233 days long.

Put April 12 and November 6 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. New York lands within a couple of weeks of the middle of the 100 cities covered here, whose median season is 229 days.

Behind every date on this page is one weather station, NY Ave V Brooklyn (NOAA USC00305796), 5.2 miles south-west of New York's internal point in the Census Bureau's files and about 20 feet up.

New York's last spring frost, by chance

One year in ten has a freeze on or after April 12. In nine years out of ten there is still a freeze on or after March 16, and half of years see one on or after April 1.

Only 27 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 New York.

First fall frost in New York

In New York the first freeze has arrived by November 6 in one fall out of ten, by November 19 in five, and by December 5 in nine.

From the earliest first freeze to the latest is 29 days, close to the middle of the pack.

How long is the frost-free season in New York?

Neither long nor short next to the other cities here. There is little difference between a typical season (233 days) and a short one (215 days) in New York: 18 days, less than in most of the cities covered here.

These figures are NOAA's own counts of freeze-free days across its simulated years, which is why they can differ a little from the days between the two typical dates. Every winter in the record reached freezing at NY Ave V Brooklyn, so the dates above describe a real yearly event, not a rare one.

Hard freeze dates for New York

The typical 28°F night comes on December 1 in fall, 12 days after the first 32°F frost, and the last one comes on March 19 in spring, 13 days before the last 32°F frost. One spring in ten still has a 28°F night on or after April 2, and one fall in ten sees the first by November 16.

Planting dates for New York, counted from the frost dates

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 1, cabbage transplants go in on March 4 and lettuce from March 4 to March 11. Tender crops wait until it has passed, with peppers going out on April 15 and beans sown on or after April 1. The University of New Hampshire Extension sheet gives peas no frost count at all; sow them as soon as the soil thaws.

The late date comes 11 days after the typical one; choose it for plants you cannot cover.

New York's first frost leaves room for only 32 of the 34 fall crops, counting back NC State Extension's days to harvest and University of Georgia Extension's harvest allowance of 18 days; for the other 2 the last planting day falls before July. Of the crops that fit, collard greens is the slowest: 118 days from planting to the early frost, which makes July 11 its last day.

Worked example: a tomato plan for New York

Take tomatoes in New York. The University of New Hampshire Extension rule is to set transplants out one to two weeks after the last frost. From April 1, the typical date, that means April 8 to April 15; from April 12, the late date, it means April 19 to April 26, a delay of 11 days.

To have transplants ready on the first day of the late window, sow seeds six to eight weeks earlier, between February 22 and March 8.

From the last set-out day to the early first frost on November 6 is 194 days. NC State Extension gives 75 to 85 days, and the longer figure still fits with 109 days to spare.

Where New York's numbers are measured

5.2 miles south-west of the city's internal point, the station is close but not on top of New York.

At about 20 feet, it ranks above 6 and below 91 of the 100 stations used for these pages. In NOAA's file the record is marked R, meaning representative.

The Census Gazetteer gives no elevation for New York 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

All three of the closest cities on these pages are within a hundred miles, led by Newark, NJ at 13 miles, so their differences show how much a few miles can move a frost date.

• Newark, NJ lies 13 miles west of New York. Typical last frost April 4, first frost November 6, 216 days between; its last frost is nearly the same as New York's, and the season runs 17 days shorter.
• Yonkers, NY, 20 miles to the north: last frost April 20, first frost October 26, 189 days frost-free; the last frost is 19 days later than in New York, and the frost-free season is 44 days shorter than New York's.
• Philadelphia, PA, 77 miles to the south-west: last frost March 30, first frost November 17, 232 days frost-free; its last frost falls within a few days of New York's, and the season is about the same length as New York's.

Take these dates further

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 New York, 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. New York 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 8,478,072 residents.

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.

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