Banner Elk, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Banner Elk (USC00310506), elevation 3,770 ft. The station is named for Banner Elk, and its coordinates are 0.4 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Banner Elk town.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Banner Elk is Apr 30 and the median first fall freeze is Oct 14, for a typical freeze-free season of 167 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after May 17, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 1. The station averages 127 nights per year with a low of 32°F or colder.
Compared with the median of 187 North Carolina stations in this dataset, the median last freeze here is 29 days later than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 21 days earlier than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #178 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 35 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) | Apr 27 | May 12 | May 27 | Sep 23 | Oct 5 | Oct 17 | 126 / 145 / 166 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Apr 12 | Apr 30 | May 17 | Oct 1 | Oct 14 | Oct 27 | 146 / 167 / 188 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Mar 30 | Apr 16 | May 5 | Oct 10 | Oct 23 | Nov 5 | 169 / 192 / 211 |
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 Banner Elk
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 Banner Elk: Banner Elk (0 mi), Sugar Mountain (2 mi), Seven Devils (4 mi), Elk Park (6 mi).
Nearby stations
- Beech Mtn, NC — 2 mi; median last freeze May 6, first freeze Oct 14
- Grandfather Mtn, NC — 5 mi; median last freeze May 5, first freeze Oct 13
- Flat Springs 1E, NC — 7 mi; median last freeze Apr 18, first freeze Oct 24
- Blowing Rock 1NW, NC — 10 mi; median last freeze Apr 25, first freeze Oct 21
- Boone 1 SE, NC — 13 mi; median last freeze May 2, first freeze Oct 13
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00310506 · Latitude 36.1617, longitude -81.8742 · Elevation 1149 m (3,770 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: R — Representative: meets WMO standards for 10 or more years; gaps filled from surrounding stations. Years of data used: 19.
- Source file: USC00310506.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 05/17 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 04/30 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 04/12 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/01 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 10/14 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 10/27 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 188.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 167.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 146.0 |