Clayton, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Clayton 3E (USC00311817), elevation 332 ft. The station is named for Clayton, and its coordinates are 3.1 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Clayton town.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Clayton 3E is Mar 28 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 8, for a typical freeze-free season of 225 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 11, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 27. The station averages 61 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 4 days earlier than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 4 days later than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #63 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 32 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 26 | Apr 10 | Apr 24 | Oct 17 | Oct 31 | Nov 11 | 183 / 203 / 223 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Mar 10 | Mar 28 | Apr 11 | Oct 27 | Nov 8 | Nov 22 | 204 / 225 / 249 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Feb 23 | Mar 15 | Apr 1 | Nov 4 | Nov 19 | Dec 9 | 226 / 251 / 280 |
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 Clayton
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 Clayton 3E: Archer Lodge (4 mi), Wilson's Mills (4 mi), Wendell (11 mi), Zebulon (14 mi).
Nearby stations
- Clayton WTP, NC — 4 mi; median last freeze Apr 7, first freeze Nov 3
- Smithfield, NC — 9 mi; median last freeze Mar 29, first freeze Nov 5
- Garner, NC — 15 mi; median last freeze Apr 1, first freeze Nov 1
- Raleigh 4 SW, NC — 17 mi; median last freeze Mar 28, first freeze Nov 9
- Raleigh State Univ, NC — 20 mi; median last freeze Mar 28, first freeze Nov 8
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00311817 · Latitude 35.6350, longitude -78.3981 · Elevation 101 m (332 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: 6.
- Source file: USC00311817.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/11 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 03/28 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 03/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/27 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 11/08 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 11/22 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 249.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 225.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 204.0 |