Winston-Salem, NC Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

In a typical year the final freeze of spring reaches Winston-Salem around March 26, and the first freeze of autumn returns around November 9. NOAA's normals call the frost-free stretch between them 228 days long.

Dates at even odds leave half of all years unprotected. The safer pair for Winston-Salem is April 11 in spring, which only one year in ten passes, and October 28 in fall, which one year in ten arrives before. Winston-Salem lands within a couple of weeks of the middle of the 100 cities covered here, whose median season is 229 days.

NOAA measured them at Winston Salem Rynlds AP (station USW00093807), about 3.0 miles north-east of the Census Bureau's internal point for Winston-Salem and about 970 feet above sea level.

Last spring frost in Winston-Salem

NOAA gives March 6 as the date a spring freeze is still ahead in nine years out of ten, March 26 as the date it is still ahead in half of them, and April 11 as the date only one year in ten passes.

The early and late dates are 36 days apart, about the spread most cities on these pages show.

Winston-Salem's first fall frost, by chance

Expect the first freeze of fall by November 9 in a typical year. One year in ten brings it by October 28, and nine in ten have had it by November 26.

The early and late fall dates are 29 days apart, a typical spread for the cities covered here.

Winston-Salem's frost-free season

The season is about as long as the middle of these pages. The record runs from 205 days in a short year through 228 days in a typical one to 253 days in a long one, a swing of 23 days below typical that is middling for these pages.

NOAA counts these days from its own simulations, so they will not equal the number of days between the two typical dates exactly. At Winston Salem Rynlds 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 Winston-Salem

Light frost and hard freeze are well separated in Winston-Salem. In fall the typical 28°F night comes on November 23, 14 days after the first 32°F frost on November 9; in spring the last one comes on March 13, 13 days before the last 32°F frost. Crops that tolerate light frost have that stretch to themselves. One spring in ten still has a 28°F night on or after March 30, and one fall in ten sees the first by November 5.

Planting dates for Winston-Salem, counted from the frost dates

In Winston-Salem the University of New Hampshire Extension count lands like this, measured from the typical last frost on March 26: lettuce from February 26 to March 5, cabbage on February 26, seed potatoes from March 12 to March 19, then peppers on April 9 and beans from March 26. 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.

From the late date, April 11, every tender crop moves back 16 days; that buys protection against a spring only one year in ten brings.

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 Winston-Salem only 32 of the 34 crops in the fall planner have a last planting day in July or later, and the other 2 would have to go in before then, in spring or early summer. The slowest crop that still fits is collard greens, which needs 118 days before the early first frost and so must be in by July 2.

Worked example: fall broccoli in Winston-Salem

Broccoli transplants need up to 80 days to reach harvest by NC State Extension's table, and University of Georgia Extension adds 18 days to harvest, so 98 days must pass before frost. In Winston-Salem the last planting day is August 3 against the typical first frost on November 9, and July 22 against the early date on October 28.

With only 12 days between the two last days, Winston-Salem gardeners can plan on either without much difference.

In spring the same family goes in earlier: counting from March 26, University of New Hampshire Extension puts cabbage transplants out on February 26, weeks ahead of the last frost.

About the Winston Salem Rynlds AP station

3.0 miles north-east of the city's internal point, the station is close but not on top of Winston-Salem.

At about 970 feet, it ranks above 68 and below 31 of the 100 stations used for these pages. In NOAA's file the record is marked R, meaning representative.

No elevation is available for Winston-Salem 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

All three of the closest cities on these pages are within a hundred miles, led by Greensboro, NC at 24 miles, so their differences show how much a few miles can move a frost date.

• Greensboro, NC, 24 miles to the east: last frost April 1, first frost November 4, 217 days frost-free; spring frost lingers 6 days longer than in Winston-Salem, and it has 11 days less without frost.
• Charlotte, NC (70 miles, south-west): the last frost is 4 days later than in Winston-Salem, and the season is about the same length as Winston-Salem's. Its typical dates are March 30 and November 3, with 221 days frost-free.
• Durham, NC, 77 miles to the east: last frost April 2, first frost November 4, 217 days frost-free; the last frost is 7 days later than in Winston-Salem, and the season runs 11 days shorter.

Put the frost dates to work

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 Winston-Salem, and the hardiness zone lookup answers what will overwinter.

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

For North Carolina, the state planting pages copy the Extension calendar (NC State Extension) crop by crop and region by region: tomatoes in North Carolina, peppers in North Carolina, cucumbers in North Carolina, summer squash in North Carolina, green beans in North Carolina. Set those windows beside the frost dates above.

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. 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 Winston-Salem at 255,769 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. The methodology page explains how each figure is checked.

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