North Wilkesboro, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station N Wilkesboro (USC00316256), elevation 1,120 ft. The station is named for North Wilkesboro, and its coordinates are 1.0 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for North Wilkesboro town.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at N Wilkesboro is Apr 10 and the median first fall freeze is Oct 29, for a typical freeze-free season of 201 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 26, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 16. The station averages 104 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 9 days later than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 6 days earlier than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #136 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) | Apr 8 | Apr 24 | May 11 | Oct 7 | Oct 20 | Nov 2 | 157 / 178 / 198 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Mar 25 | Apr 10 | Apr 26 | Oct 16 | Oct 29 | Nov 10 | 180 / 201 / 225 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Mar 9 | Mar 27 | Apr 11 | Oct 27 | Nov 8 | Nov 24 | 205 / 226 / 250 |
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 North Wilkesboro
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 N Wilkesboro: North Wilkesboro (1 mi), Fairplains (2 mi), Wilkesboro (2 mi), Cricket (2 mi), Mulberry (4 mi), Hays (6 mi).
Nearby stations
- W Kerr Scott Resv, NC — 5 mi; median last freeze Apr 7, first freeze Nov 1
- Taylorsville, NC — 17 mi; median last freeze Apr 2, first freeze Nov 4
- Elkin, NC — 17 mi; median last freeze Apr 15, first freeze Oct 26
- Transou, NC — 18 mi; median last freeze May 4, first freeze Oct 10
- Sparta 3.5 SSW, NC — 20 mi; median last freeze Apr 22, first freeze Oct 22
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00316256 · Latitude 36.1639, longitude -81.1536 · Elevation 341 m (1,120 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: S — Standard: meets WMO data-availability standards for 24 or more years. Years of data used: 27.
- Source file: USC00316256.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/26 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 04/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 03/25 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/16 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 10/29 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 11/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 225.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 201.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 180.0 |