Lake City, SC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Lake City 2 SE (USC00384886), elevation 75 ft. The station is named for Lake City, and its coordinates are 1.4 miles from the Census Bureau’s internal point for Lake City city.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Lake City 2 SE is Mar 20 and the median first fall freeze is Nov 13, for a typical freeze-free season of 240 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after Apr 5, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 30. The station averages 53 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 6 days earlier than the state median (Mar 26), the median first freeze is 4 days later than the state median (Nov 9), and the growing season ranks #29 of 103 by length (longest = #1). The spread between the 90% and 10% spring dates is 39 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 15 | Apr 2 | Apr 18 | Oct 20 | Nov 2 | Nov 19 | 194 / 217 / 241 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Feb 25 | Mar 20 | Apr 5 | Oct 30 | Nov 13 | Dec 4 | 216 / 240 / 272 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Feb 4 | Mar 4 | Mar 26 | Nov 7 | Nov 28 | Dec 25 | 236 / 268 / 304 |
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 Lake City 2 SE: Lake City (1 mi), Scranton (4 mi), Coward (8 mi), Pamplico (13 mi).
Nearby stations
- Cades 4 W, SC — 8 mi; median last freeze Mar 27, first freeze Nov 9
- Kingstree, SC — 14 mi; median last freeze Mar 29, first freeze Nov 6
- Florence Rgnl AP, SC — 22 mi; median last freeze Mar 19, first freeze Nov 13
- Hemingway 8 ESE, SC — 24 mi; median last freeze Mar 23, first freeze Nov 15
- Marion, SC — 29 mi; median last freeze Mar 22, first freeze Nov 11
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00384886 · Latitude 33.8642, longitude -79.7297 · Elevation 23 m (75 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: R — Representative: meets WMO standards for 10 or more years; gaps filled from surrounding stations. Years of data used: 18.
- Source file: USC00384886.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 04/05 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 03/20 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 02/25 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/30 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 11/13 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 12/04 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 272.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 240.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 216.0 |