Athens-Clarke County, GA frost dates
From NOAA weather station Athens Ben Epps AP (USW00013873), elevation 785 ft. The station is named for Athens-Clarke County, and its coordinates are 2.4 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Athens-Clarke County unified government (balance).
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Athens Ben Epps AP is Mar 23 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 10, for a typical freeze-free season of 232 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 10, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 28. The station averages 46 nights per year with a low of 32°F or colder.
Compared with the median of 126 Georgia stations in this dataset, the median last freeze here is 2 days later than the state median (Mar 21), the median first freeze is 2 days earlier than the state median (Nov 12), and the growing season ranks #75 of 126 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 39 days, a measure of how variable spring is here.
Freeze probability table
| Threshold | Last spring occurrence | First fall occurrence | Season length (days) 90% / 50% / 10% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early (90% chance of a later freeze) | Median (50%) | Cautious (10% chance of a later freeze) | Early (10% chance by then) | Median (50%) | Late (90% chance by then) | ||
| 36°F (light frost possible) | Mar 18 | Apr 5 | Apr 21 | Oct 19 | Oct 31 | Nov 14 | 188 / 209 / 231 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Mar 2 | Mar 23 | Apr 10 | Oct 28 | Nov 10 | Nov 27 | 208 / 232 / 260 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Feb 13 | Mar 9 | Mar 27 | Nov 7 | Nov 25 | Dec 19 | 236 / 264 / 295 |
Read the spring “Cautious” column as the safer planting date: only about 1 year in 10 has a freeze after it. NOAA computes these from daily minimum temperatures at the station; your yard can differ, especially in low spots or at a different elevation.
Planting calendar for Athens-Clarke County
Pick how much frost risk you accept. The calendar applies generic, extension-published timing rules to this station’s dates. See the rules and sources.
| Crop | Start seeds indoors | Plant outdoors (spring) | Latest fall planting (est.) | Days to harvest |
|---|
Fall estimates count back from the median first fall freeze (32°F for tender crops, 28°F hard freeze for cool-season crops) by the longer days-to-harvest figure. These are rough planning aids, not recommendations for any specific variety; check seed packets and your county extension office.
Towns that use this station as their nearest
Census places within 15 miles whose closest station in this dataset is Athens Ben Epps AP: Athens-Clarke County (2 mi).
Nearby stations
- Winterville, GA — 2 mi; median last freeze Apr 2, first freeze Nov 2
- Danielsville, GA — 12 mi; median last freeze Mar 29, first freeze Nov 7
- Watkinsville 5 SSE, GA — 12 mi; median last freeze Mar 24, first freeze Nov 12
- U Of GA Plt Sci, GA — 13 mi; median last freeze Mar 27, first freeze Nov 8
- Lexington, GA — 13 mi; median last freeze Mar 31, first freeze Nov 6
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USW00013873 · Latitude 33.9481, longitude -83.3275 · Elevation 239 m (785 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: S — Standard: meets WMO data-availability standards for 24 or more years. Years of data used: 30.
- Source file: USW00013873.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 03/23 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 03/02 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/28 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 11/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 11/27 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 260.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 232.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 208.0 |