Sanford, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Sanford 8 NE (USC00317656), elevation 262 ft. The station is named for Sanford, and its coordinates are 7.8 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Sanford city.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Sanford 8 NE is Apr 10 and the median first fall freeze is Oct 30, for a typical freeze-free season of 203 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 25, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 15. The station averages 79 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 5 days earlier than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #128 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 30 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 7 | Apr 22 | May 9 | Oct 8 | Oct 21 | Nov 2 | 160 / 181 / 199 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Mar 26 | Apr 10 | Apr 25 | Oct 15 | Oct 30 | Nov 12 | 182 / 203 / 223 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Mar 9 | Mar 28 | Apr 11 | Oct 26 | Nov 7 | Nov 25 | 204 / 225 / 249 |
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 Sanford
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 Sanford 8 NE: Broadway (5 mi), Moncure (6 mi), Sanford (8 mi), Gulf (13 mi).
Nearby stations
- New Hill, NC — 12 mi; median last freeze Apr 6, first freeze Nov 3
- Chatham WTP, NC — 14 mi; median last freeze Apr 1, first freeze Nov 7
- Lillington, NC — 16 mi; median last freeze Mar 30, first freeze Nov 6
- Apex, NC — 19 mi; median last freeze Mar 27, first freeze Nov 8
- Cary, NC — 19 mi; median last freeze Mar 31, first freeze Nov 10
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00317656 · Latitude 35.5356, longitude -79.0475 · Elevation 80 m (262 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: S — Standard: meets WMO data-availability standards for 24 or more years. Years of data used: 26.
- Source file: USC00317656.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/25 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 04/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 03/26 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/15 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 10/30 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 11/12 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 223.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 203.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 182.0 |