Jefferson, NC frost dates

From NOAA weather station Transou (USC00318694), elevation 2,834 ft. The nearest Census place to the station coordinates is Jefferson town, 9.2 miles away.

Summary

In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Transou is May 4 and the median first fall freeze is Oct 10, for a typical freeze-free season of 158 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after May 22, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Sep 27. The station averages 138 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 33 days later than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 25 days earlier than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #185 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 34 days, a measure of how variable spring is here.

Freeze probability table

Spring: chance the last freeze falls *after* the date. Fall: chance the first freeze falls *on or before* the date. Season: days between, exceeded in 90% / 50% / 10% of years.
Threshold	Last spring occurrence			First fall occurrence			Season length (days) 90% / 50% / 10%
Threshold	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)	Season length (days) 90% / 50% / 10%
36°F (light frost possible)	Apr 30	May 15	Jun 1	Sep 16	Oct 1	Oct 13	115 / 136 / 157
32°F (freeze)	Apr 18	May 4	May 22	Sep 27	Oct 10	Oct 24	136 / 158 / 178
28°F (hard freeze)	Apr 4	Apr 20	May 12	Oct 7	Oct 20	Nov 2	158 / 182 / 204

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 Jefferson

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.

Spring frost date to plan from Filter Year

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.

Nearby stations

Jefferson 2 E, NC — 7 mi; median last freeze May 7, first freeze Oct 8
Sparta 3.5 SSW, NC — 9 mi; median last freeze Apr 22, first freeze Oct 22
N Wilkesboro, NC — 18 mi; median last freeze Apr 10, first freeze Oct 29
W Kerr Scott Resv, NC — 19 mi; median last freeze Apr 7, first freeze Nov 1
Boone 1 SE, NC — 23 mi; median last freeze May 2, first freeze Oct 13

About this station’s data

Station ID: USC00318694 · Latitude 36.4003, longitude -81.3053 · Elevation 864 m (2,834 ft)
NOAA completeness flag: S — Standard: meets WMO data-availability standards for 24 or more years. Years of data used: 24.
Source file: USC00318694.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).

Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)

Field	Value
`ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10`	05/22
`ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50`	05/04
`ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90`	04/18
`ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10`	09/27
`ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50`	10/10
`ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90`	10/24
`ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10`	178.0
`ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50`	158.0
`ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90`	136.0