Morehead City, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Morehead City 2 WNW (USC00315830), elevation 10 ft. The station is named for Morehead City, and its coordinates are 0.4 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Morehead City town.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Morehead City 2 WNW is Mar 18 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 21, for a typical freeze-free season of 249 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 5, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Nov 5. The station averages 36 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 14 days earlier than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 17 days later than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #12 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
| 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 15 | Apr 1 | Apr 16 | Oct 28 | Nov 9 | Nov 26 | 203 / 224 / 246 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Feb 26 | Mar 18 | Apr 5 | Nov 5 | Nov 21 | Dec 12 | 222 / 249 / 274 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Feb 6 | Mar 2 | Mar 23 | Nov 15 | Dec 5 | Jan 4 | 248 / 279 / 311 |
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 Morehead 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 Morehead City 2 WNW: Morehead City (0 mi).
Nearby stations
- Atlantic Beach WTP, NC — 2 mi; median last freeze Mar 3, first freeze Dec 13
- Beaufort Michael J Smith Fld, NC — 4 mi; median last freeze Mar 10, first freeze Dec 1
- Newport/morehead City WFO, NC — 9 mi; median last freeze Mar 26, first freeze Nov 16
- Cherry Point MCAS, NC — 14 mi; median last freeze Mar 19, first freeze Nov 22
- Bayboro 3 SW, NC — 28 mi; median last freeze Mar 30, first freeze Nov 8
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00315830 · Latitude 34.7336, longitude -76.7358 · Elevation 3 m (10 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: R — Representative: meets WMO standards for 10 or more years; gaps filled from surrounding stations. Years of data used: 22.
- Source file: USC00315830.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/05 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 03/18 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 02/26 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 11/05 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 11/21 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 12/12 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 274.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 249.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 222.0 |