Lake City, SC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Cades 4 W (USC00381241), elevation 80 ft. The nearest Census place to the station coordinates is Lake City city, 7.2 miles away.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Cades 4 W is Mar 27 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 9, for a typical freeze-free season of 227 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 13, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 26. The station averages 59 nights per year with a low of 32°F or colder.
Compared with the median of 103 South Carolina stations in this dataset, the median last freeze here is 1 day later than the state median (Mar 26), the median first freeze is the same day as the state median (Nov 9), and the growing season ranks #60 of 103 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 20 | Apr 6 | Apr 22 | Oct 16 | Oct 31 | Nov 12 | 186 / 206 / 229 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Mar 4 | Mar 27 | Apr 13 | Oct 26 | Nov 9 | Nov 25 | 204 / 227 / 253 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Feb 14 | Mar 13 | Apr 2 | Nov 4 | Nov 20 | Dec 14 | 227 / 254 / 287 |
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 Lake City
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 Cades 4 W: Olanta (10 mi), Turbeville (11 mi), Shiloh (13 mi).
Nearby stations
- Lake City 2 SE, SC — 8 mi; median last freeze Mar 20, first freeze Nov 13
- Kingstree, SC — 9 mi; median last freeze Mar 29, first freeze Nov 6
- Manning, SC — 21 mi; median last freeze Mar 25, first freeze Nov 11
- Florence Rgnl AP, SC — 27 mi; median last freeze Mar 19, first freeze Nov 13
- Elliott 0.8 NW, SC — 28 mi; median last freeze Mar 19, first freeze Nov 15
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00381241 · Latitude 33.8083, longitude -79.8567 · Elevation 24 m (80 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: R — Representative: meets WMO standards for 10 or more years; gaps filled from surrounding stations. Years of data used: 23.
- Source file: USC00381241.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/13 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 03/27 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 03/04 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/26 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 11/09 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 11/25 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 253.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 227.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 204.0 |