Wilmington, NC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Wilmington Intl AP (USW00013748), elevation 33 ft. The station is named for Wilmington, and its coordinates are 4.1 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Wilmington city.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Wilmington Intl AP is Mar 19 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 20, for a typical freeze-free season of 247 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 4, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Nov 5. The station averages 37 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 13 days earlier than the state median (Apr 1), the median first freeze is 16 days later than the state median (Nov 4), and the growing season ranks #13 of 187 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 37 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 14 | Mar 30 | Apr 13 | Oct 27 | Nov 8 | Nov 22 | 204 / 224 / 248 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Feb 26 | Mar 19 | Apr 4 | Nov 5 | Nov 20 | Dec 6 | 223 / 247 / 274 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Feb 4 | Mar 2 | Mar 23 | Nov 14 | Dec 3 | Jan 1 | 249 / 278 / 308 |
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 Wilmington
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 Wilmington Intl AP: Blue Clay Farms (2 mi), Hightsville (2 mi), Kings Grant (2 mi), Wrightsboro (2 mi), Murraysville (4 mi), Wilmington (4 mi), Bayshore (6 mi), Ogden (6 mi), Belville (7 mi), Porters Neck (8 mi), Leland (9 mi).
Nearby stations
- Wilmington 7 N, NC — 4 mi; median last freeze Mar 29, first freeze Nov 8
- Wilmington 7 SE, NC — 9 mi; median last freeze Mar 20, first freeze Nov 15
- Moores Creek Nb, NC — 18 mi; median last freeze Mar 27, first freeze Nov 8
- Southport 5 N, NC — 20 mi; median last freeze Mar 24, first freeze Nov 17
- Surf City, NC — 22 mi; median last freeze Mar 26, first freeze Nov 13
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USW00013748 · Latitude 34.2675, longitude -77.8997 · Elevation 10 m (33 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: S — Standard: meets WMO data-availability standards for 24 or more years. Years of data used: 28.
- Source file: USW00013748.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/04 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 03/19 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 02/26 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 11/05 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 11/20 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 12/06 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 274.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 247.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 223.0 |