Burlington, NC frost dates

From NOAA weather station Burlington Fire Stn #5 (USC00311239), elevation 660 ft. The station is named for Burlington, and its coordinates are 1.6 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Burlington city.

Summary

In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Burlington Fire Stn #5 is Mar 29 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 9, for a typical freeze-free season of 226 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 15, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 26. The station averages 72 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 3 days earlier than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 5 days later than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #55 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 38 days, a measure of how variable spring is here.

Freeze probability table

Spring: chance the last freeze falls after the date. Fall: chance the first freeze falls on or before the date. Season: days between, exceeded in 90% / 50% / 10% of years.
ThresholdLast spring occurrenceFirst fall occurrenceSeason 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 25Apr 10May 2Oct 17Oct 30Nov 10179 / 203 / 224
32°F (freeze)Mar 8Mar 29Apr 15Oct 26Nov 9Nov 25200 / 226 / 253
28°F (hard freeze)Feb 22Mar 15Apr 3Nov 6Nov 23Dec 14225 / 255 / 284

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 Burlington

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.

CropStart seeds indoorsPlant 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 Burlington Fire Stn #5: Burlington (2 mi), Glen Raven (5 mi), Ossipee (8 mi), Altamahaw (10 mi).

Nearby stations

About this station’s data

Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
FieldValue
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP1004/15
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP5003/29
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP9003/08
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP1010/26
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP5011/09
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP9011/25
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10253.0
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50226.0
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90200.0