Charleston, SC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Charleston City (USW00013782), elevation 10 ft. The station is named for Charleston, and its coordinates are 4.1 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Charleston city.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Charleston City is Feb 4 and the median first fall freeze is Dec 30, for a typical freeze-free season of 321 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Mar 4, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Dec 2. The station averages 6 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 50 days earlier than the state median (Mar 26), the median first freeze is 51 days later than the state median (Nov 9), and the growing season ranks #1 of 103 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 58 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) | Jan 29 | Feb 25 | Mar 17 | Nov 20 | Dec 10 | Jan 7 | 259 / 290 / 323 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Jan 5 | Feb 4 | Mar 4 | Dec 2 | Dec 30 | Jan 25 | 289 / 321 / 357 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Dec 27 | Jan 24 | Feb 20 | Dec 15 | Jan 8 | Feb 3 | 314 / 352 / 365 |
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 Charleston
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 Charleston City: James Island (3 mi), Charleston (4 mi), Folly Beach (8 mi), Kiawah Island (14 mi).
Nearby stations
- Sullivans Is, SC — 5 mi; median last freeze Mar 13, first freeze Nov 30
- Charleston Intl AP, SC — 10 mi; median last freeze Mar 7, first freeze Nov 27
- Summerville 4W, SC — 25 mi; median last freeze Mar 22, first freeze Nov 12
- Edisto Is Middleton Plantation, SC — 26 mi; median last freeze Mar 1, first freeze Dec 6
- Edisto Beach Sp, SC — 28 mi; median last freeze Mar 1, first freeze Dec 6
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USW00013782 · Latitude 32.7800, longitude -79.9319 · Elevation 3 m (10 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: S — Standard: meets WMO data-availability standards for 24 or more years. Years of data used: 30.
- Source file: USW00013782.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 03/04 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 02/04 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 01/05 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 12/02 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 12/30 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 01/25 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 357.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 321.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 289.0 |