Cherokee Falls, SC frost dates
From NOAA weather station Ninety Nine Is (USC00386293), elevation 500 ft. The nearest Census place to the station coordinates is Cherokee Falls CDP, 3.7 miles away.
Summary
In the 1991–2020 record, the median last spring freeze (32°F) at Ninety Nine Is is Apr 20 and the median first fall freeze is Oct 24, for a typical freeze-free season of 186 days. In about 1 year in 10 the last spring freeze comes after May 6, and in about 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives by Oct 11. The station averages 93 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 25 days later than the state median (Mar 26), the median first freeze is 16 days earlier than the state median (Nov 9), and the growing season ranks #102 of 103 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
| 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) | Apr 15 | May 1 | May 15 | Oct 4 | Oct 15 | Oct 29 | 148 / 168 / 188 |
| 32°F (freeze) | Apr 2 | Apr 20 | May 6 | Oct 11 | Oct 24 | Nov 5 | 165 / 186 / 209 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | Mar 20 | Apr 6 | Apr 24 | Oct 20 | Nov 1 | Nov 16 | 187 / 210 / 233 |
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 Cherokee Falls
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 Ninety Nine Is: Cherokee Falls (4 mi), Smyrna (5 mi), Hickory Grove (6 mi), Blacksburg (6 mi), East Gaffney (8 mi), Grover (10 mi), Gaffney (10 mi).
Nearby stations
- York 5 SSE, SC — 18 mi; median last freeze Apr 1, first freeze Nov 3
- Shelby 2 NW, NC — 20 mi; median last freeze Apr 12, first freeze Oct 25
- Gastonia Muni AP, NC — 22 mi; median last freeze Mar 24, first freeze Nov 9
- Rock Hill York Co AP, SC — 25 mi; median last freeze Mar 31, first freeze Nov 4
- Spartanburg 3 SSE, SC — 25 mi; median last freeze Apr 8, first freeze Nov 1
About this station’s data
- Station ID: USC00386293 · Latitude 35.0317, longitude -81.4928 · Elevation 152 m (500 ft)
- NOAA completeness flag: S — Standard: meets WMO data-availability standards for 24 or more years. Years of data used: 25.
- Source file: USC00386293.csv (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 annual/seasonal normals).
Raw values from the NOAA file (32°F)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP10 | 05/06 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP50 | 04/20 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBLST-T32FP90 | 04/02 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP10 | 10/11 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP50 | 10/24 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBFST-T32FP90 | 11/05 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP10 | 209.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP50 | 186.0 |
ANN-TMIN-PRBGSL-T32FP90 | 165.0 |