Clayton, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Clayton WTP (USC00311820), elevation 300 ft. The station is named for Clayton, and its coordinates are 1.5 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 WTP is Apr 7 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 3, for a typical freeze-free season of 211 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 20, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 22. The station averages 77 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 6 days later than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 1 day earlier than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #108 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 28 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 3 | Apr 18 | Apr 30 | Oct 14 | Oct 26 | Nov 5 | 173 / 191 / 209 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Mar 23 | Apr 7 | Apr 20 | Oct 22 | Nov 3 | Nov 16 | 191 / 211 / 233 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Mar 7 | Mar 27 | Apr 12 | Nov 1 | Nov 14 | Dec 1 | 211 / 233 / 258 |
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 WTP: Clayton (2 mi), Knightdale (11 mi).
Nearby stations
- Clayton 3E, NC — 4 mi; median last freeze Mar 28, first freeze Nov 8
- Smithfield, NC — 11 mi; median last freeze Mar 29, first freeze Nov 5
- Garner, NC — 11 mi; median last freeze Apr 1, first freeze Nov 1
- Raleigh 4 SW, NC — 14 mi; median last freeze Mar 28, first freeze Nov 9
- Raleigh State Univ, NC — 17 mi; median last freeze Mar 28, first freeze Nov 8
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00311820 · Latitude 35.6408, longitude -78.4633 · Elevation 91 m (300 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: S — Standard: meets WMO data-availability standards for 24 or more years. Years of data used: 24.
- Source file: USC00311820.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/20 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 04/07 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 03/23 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/22 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 11/03 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 11/16 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 233.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 211.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 191.0 |