Bryson City, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Bryson City 4 (USC00311165), elevation 1,985 ft. The station is named for Bryson City, and its coordinates are 1.6 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Bryson City town.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Bryson City 4 is Apr 16 and the median first fall freeze is Oct 24, for a typical freeze-free season of 189 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after May 2, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 11. The station averages 96 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 15 days later than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 11 days earlier than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #153 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 31 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 15 | Apr 30 | May 15 | Oct 5 | Oct 16 | Oct 28 | 150 / 169 / 188 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Apr 1 | Apr 16 | May 2 | Oct 11 | Oct 24 | Nov 6 | 170 / 189 / 210 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Mar 17 | Apr 3 | Apr 19 | Oct 19 | Nov 2 | Nov 17 | 192 / 214 / 237 |
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 Bryson City
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 Bryson City 4: Bryson City (2 mi).
Nearby stations
- Cherokee, NC — 9 mi; median last freeze Apr 17, first freeze Oct 21
- Robbinsville Ag 5 NE, NC — 14 mi; median last freeze Apr 13, first freeze Oct 26
- Cullowhee, NC — 19 mi; median last freeze Apr 19, first freeze Oct 22
- Franklin, NC — 19 mi; median last freeze Apr 17, first freeze Oct 23
- Cataloochee, NC — 24 mi; median last freeze Apr 30, first freeze Oct 12
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00311165 · Latitude 35.4467, longitude -83.4622 · Elevation 605 m (1,985 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: E — Estimated: fewer complete years at this site; NOAA estimated the normals statistically from nearby stations. Treat these dates with extra caution. Years of data used: 10.
- Source file: USC00311165.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 05/02 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 04/16 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 04/01 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/11 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 10/24 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 11/06 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 210.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 189.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 170.0 |