Beaufort, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Beaufort Michael J Smith Fld (USW00093765), elevation 11 ft. The station is named for Beaufort, and its coordinates are 0.9 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Beaufort town.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Beaufort Michael J Smith Fld is Mar 10 and the median first fall freeze is Dec 1, for a typical freeze-free season of 265 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Mar 26, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Nov 10. The station averages 28 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 22 days earlier than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 27 days later than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #7 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 36 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 6 | Mar 21 | Apr 6 | Nov 1 | Nov 15 | Dec 4 | 216 / 239 / 264 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Feb 18 | Mar 10 | Mar 26 | Nov 10 | Dec 1 | Dec 24 | 240 / 265 / 295 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Jan 29 | Feb 23 | Mar 16 | Nov 25 | Dec 17 | Jan 13 | 267 / 296 / 329 |
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 Beaufort
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 Beaufort Michael J Smith Fld: Beaufort (1 mi), Harkers Island (6 mi), Gloucester (7 mi), Marshallberg (8 mi), Davis (12 mi).
Nearby stations
- Morehead City 2 WNW, NC — 4 mi; median last freeze Mar 18, first freeze Nov 21
- Atlantic Beach WTP, NC — 5 mi; median last freeze Mar 3, first freeze Dec 13
- Newport/morehead City WFO, NC — 13 mi; median last freeze Mar 26, first freeze Nov 16
- Cherry Point MCAS, NC — 17 mi; median last freeze Mar 19, first freeze Nov 22
- Cedar Is, NC — 27 mi; median last freeze Mar 11, first freeze Nov 30
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USW00093765 · Latitude 34.7336, longitude -76.6606 · Elevation 3 m (11 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: USW00093765.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 03/26 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 03/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 02/18 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 11/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 12/01 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 12/24 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 295.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 265.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 240.0 |