Southport, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Southport 5 N (USC00318113), elevation 20 ft. The station is named for Southport, and its coordinates are 4.2 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Southport city.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Southport 5 N is Mar 24 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 17, for a typical freeze-free season of 239 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 10, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 31. The station averages 51 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 8 days earlier than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 13 days later than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #20 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 40 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 17 | Apr 4 | Apr 19 | Oct 21 | Nov 5 | Nov 23 | 194 / 215 / 238 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Mar 1 | Mar 24 | Apr 10 | Oct 31 | Nov 17 | Dec 6 | 213 / 239 / 268 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Feb 7 | Mar 8 | Mar 30 | Nov 10 | Dec 1 | Dec 30 | 239 / 268 / 303 |
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 Southport
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 Southport 5 N: Southport (4 mi), Boiling Spring Lakes (5 mi), Kure Beach (6 mi), St. James (6 mi), Caswell Beach (7 mi), Carolina Beach (7 mi), Oak Island (8 mi), Bald Head Island (9 mi), Bolivia (10 mi).
Nearby stations
- Wilmington 7 SE, NC — 13 mi; median last freeze Mar 20, first freeze Nov 15
- Wilmington Intl AP, NC — 20 mi; median last freeze Mar 19, first freeze Nov 20
- Shallotte Ag, NC — 22 mi; median last freeze Mar 20, first freeze Nov 17
- Wilmington 7 N, NC — 23 mi; median last freeze Mar 29, first freeze Nov 8
- Longwood, NC — 31 mi; median last freeze Mar 26, first freeze Nov 11
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00318113 · Latitude 33.9947, longitude -78.0078 · Elevation 6 m (20 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: R — Representative: meets WMO standards for 10 or more years; gaps filled from surrounding stations. Years of data used: 21.
- Source file: USC00318113.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/10 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 03/24 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 03/01 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/31 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 11/17 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 12/06 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 268.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 239.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 213.0 |