Wichita, KS Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

The last spring frost in Wichita, KS comes on April 11 in a typical year, and the first fall frost follows on October 29, leaving a frost-free season of 199 days.

Because half of all years do worse than the typical date, the dates that matter for tender plants are the late spring date, April 26, and the early fall date, October 15, each of which one year in ten fails to beat. Among the 100 cities covered here, whose median season is 229 days, Wichita ranks 71st for length and falls 30 days below the middle.

The numbers belong to Wichita, NOAA station USW00003928, which sits 5.9 miles south-west of the Census Bureau's internal point for Wichita at an elevation of about 1,350 feet.

Last spring frost in Wichita

One year in ten has a freeze on or after April 26. In nine years out of ten there is still a freeze on or after March 25, and half of years see one on or after April 11.

Spring dates in Wichita spread over 32 days from the 90% date to the 10% date, close to the middle of the cities covered here.

First fall frost in Wichita

A first freeze on or before October 15 happens one fall in ten. By October 29 half of years have had one, and by November 10 nine years in ten have.

Fall frost keeps to a tight calendar in Wichita: 26 days from the 10% date to the 90% date, less than in most of the 100 cities here.

The growing season in Wichita

The season is somewhat shorter than the middle of these pages, so a seed packet's days to maturity deserve a second look. Seasons here barely vary: the typical year gives 199 days and a short one still gives 179 days, only 20 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 Wichita a night at or below 32°F turns up in 100% of years, which means these dates apply every winter.

28°F dates in Wichita

A hard freeze follows the first frost quickly in Wichita: the typical 28°F night arrives on November 6 in fall, only 8 days after the first 32°F one on October 29, and in spring the last one comes on March 31, 11 days before the last 32°F frost. Tender plants get little warning here. At the edges, a 28°F night on or after April 17 happens one spring in ten and one by October 24 one fall in ten; the nine-in-ten dates are March 12 and November 22.

Using Wichita's frost dates in the garden

Counting from April 11, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on March 14 and lettuce from March 14 to March 21, ahead of the last frost, and holds peppers until April 25 and beans until April 11 or later. The University of New Hampshire Extension sheet gives peas no frost count at all; sow them as soon as the soil thaws.

Counting from the late date, April 26, instead of the typical one delays every after-frost crop by 15 days. That is the price of a one-in-ten spring that most years will not need.

Wichita's first frost leaves room for only 29 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 5 the last planting day falls before July. Of the crops that fit, Chinese cabbage is the slowest: 103 days from planting to the early frost, which makes July 4 its last day.

Worked example: tomatoes in Wichita

Take tomatoes in Wichita. The University of New Hampshire Extension rule is to set transplants out one to two weeks after the last frost. From April 11, the typical date, that means April 18 to April 25; from April 26, the late date, it means May 3 to May 10, a delay of 15 days.

Seeds start six to eight weeks before the set-out day, so counting back from the first day of the late window gives March 8 to March 22 for sowing indoors.

Between the last set-out day and the early first frost on October 15 lie 158 days. Tomatoes need 75 to 85 days by NC State Extension's count, so the schedule has 73 days of slack even in an early-frost year.

The weather station behind these dates

The nearest usable station stands 5.9 miles south-west of Wichita's internal point, near the city but not in it.

Its elevation is about 1,350 feet. Of the 100 stations behind these pages, 21 sit higher and 78 lower. In NOAA's file the record is marked S, meaning standard.

The Census Gazetteer gives no elevation for Wichita 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 Tulsa, OK, 134 miles away, and the other two below are farther out, so these are regional comparisons, not neighbors. The Tulsa station sits 700 feet lower than the Wichita one, an elevation difference to keep in mind when you compare the two sets of dates.

• Tulsa, OK (134 miles, south-east): the last frost is 11 days earlier than in Wichita, and the frost-free season is 21 days longer than Wichita's. Its typical dates are March 31 and November 4, with 220 days frost-free.
• Oklahoma City, OK (154 miles, south): spring frost ends 7 days sooner than in Wichita, and the season runs 14 days longer. Its typical dates are April 4 and November 2, with 213 days frost-free.
• Overland Park, KS lies 166 miles north-east of Wichita. Typical last frost April 10, first frost October 29, 202 days between; its last frost falls within a few days of Wichita's, and frost-free days differ from Wichita's by less than a week.

Next steps for Wichita gardeners

To go beyond the crops above, use the spring planting planner and fall planting planner, both set to this station. The frost dates tool shows the full odds for Wichita, and the hardiness zone lookup gives the winter-cold zone for your ZIP code.

Looking for another city? The city frost dates index lists every page, grouped 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. Wichita 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 400,991 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. The methodology page explains how each figure is checked.

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.