Tacoma, WA Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

The last spring frost in Tacoma, WA comes on March 8 in a typical year, and the first fall frost follows on November 14, leaving a frost-free season of 250 days.

Put March 31 and October 30 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 a median of 229 days for the 100 cities on these pages, Tacoma has a season 21 days longer, 37th on the list.

NOAA measured them at Tacoma #1 (station USC00458278), about 2.3 miles east of the Census Bureau's internal point for Tacoma and about 20 feet above sea level.

Last spring frost in Tacoma

Read the table from the top: a freeze on or after March 31 is a one-in-ten spring, after March 8 is a coin toss, and after February 15 is the usual case.

There are 44 days between the early and late dates, a broader band than most cities on these pages show. In Tacoma the typical date is a weaker promise than it looks.

When is the first frost in Tacoma?

In Tacoma the first freeze has arrived by October 30 in one fall out of ten, by November 14 in five, and by December 2 in nine.

From the earliest first freeze to the latest is 33 days, close to the middle of the pack.

The growing season in Tacoma

The season is somewhat longer than the middle of these pages. The gap between a typical year and a short one is 27 days, wider than for most cities on these pages. Count on 223 days, not 250 days, when a crop has little slack.

NOAA counts these days from its own simulations, so they will not equal the number of days between the two typical dates exactly. A night at or below 32°F happens in 100% of years at this station, so frost is a yearly event here.

Hard freeze dates for Tacoma

A wide gap separates 32°F from 28°F here: the typical hard freeze arrives 17 days after the first frost in fall (December 1) and leaves 25 days before the last in spring (February 11). Frost-tolerant crops get a long extension at both ends. The late 28°F spring date, March 4, is the one that still catches blooms and young transplants one year in ten, and the early fall date, November 8, is when a hard freeze has arrived in one fall out of ten.

Planting dates for Tacoma, 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 March 8, cabbage transplants go in on February 8 and lettuce from February 8 to February 15. Tender crops wait until it has passed, with peppers going out on March 22 and beans sown on or after March 8. 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, March 31, instead of the typical one delays every after-frost crop by 23 days. That is the price of a one-in-ten spring that most years will not need.

Of the 34 crops in the fall planner, 32 still have a July-or-later last planting day in Tacoma 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 2 do not. Of the crops that fit, collard greens is the slowest: 118 days from planting to the early frost, which makes July 4 its last day.

Worked example: the last day for fall broccoli in Tacoma

Work through broccoli transplants for fall in Tacoma. The longest days to harvest NC State Extension gives is 80 days, plus University of Georgia Extension's allowance of 18 days, for 98 days in all. Subtract that from the typical first frost on November 14 and the last day to plant is August 8; subtract it from the early date on October 30 and it is July 24.

The two answers are 15 days apart, a wide enough gap that the early date is the safer one to follow in Tacoma.

Spring is the other end of the same arithmetic: University of New Hampshire Extension sets cabbage-family transplants out two to four weeks before the last frost, which from March 8 puts cabbage out on February 8.

Where Tacoma's numbers are measured

2.3 miles east of the city's internal point, the station is close but not on top of Tacoma.

Its elevation is about 20 feet. Of the 100 stations behind these pages, 88 sit higher and 11 lower. NOAA flags this station's record as standard, the code S, for the data behind its 50% last-frost value.

Because the Census file has no elevation for Tacoma, 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.

Tacoma compared with nearby cities

The closest city on these pages is Seattle, WA, 26 miles away. The next two are farther afield, so read them as a wider look at the region.

• Seattle, WA (26 miles, north): its last frost falls within a few days of Tacoma's, and it has 9 days more without frost. Its typical dates are March 8 and November 23, with 259 days frost-free.
• Portland, OR, 119 miles to the south: last frost February 25, first frost December 1, 280 days frost-free; spring frost ends 11 days sooner than in Tacoma, and the frost-free season is 30 days longer than Tacoma's.
• Spokane, WA, 237 miles to the east: last frost April 26, first frost October 15, 170 days frost-free; the last frost is 49 days later than in Tacoma, and the frost-free season is 80 days shorter than Tacoma's.

Take these dates further

Open the frost dates tool with this station already chosen to see the whole ladder of probability dates, or try the nearby stations in the same list. The spring planting planner and the fall planting planner turn the same dates into a full crop list, and the hardiness zone lookup tells you which perennials will survive the winter.

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

Where these numbers come from

The frost and freeze dates are NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11), copied from the station's own record without adjustment; NOAA's documentation defines each probability. 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 Tacoma at 228,202 people.

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.