Frost dates / Pennsylvania / Scranton

Frost dates in Scranton, PA

The station on this page is WILKES-BARRE INTL AP, PA US (USW00014777), 5.8 miles from the city point. Population in the Census 2024 estimate is 75,905.

Zone 6bUSDA average annual extreme minimum -5°F to 0°F, from ZIP 18503 (0.4 miles from the city point used on this page).

Median last 32°F is April 23. Median first 32°F is October 20. The 50% growing-season length is 178 days. The green band runs from the median last frost to the median first frost. Thin ticks mark the 10%, 50%, and 90% dates.

Outside the median season Growing seasonTicks: 10%, 50%, and 90%

Last 32°F in spring

NCEI’s probability is the chance the last spring minimum of 32°F or lower occurs on or after the date.

ProbabilityDateHow to read it
90%April 9Earlier date. A last 32°F on or after this day is common.
50%April 23Median.
10%May 10Later date. A last 32°F on or after this day is uncommon.

First 32°F in fall

NCEI’s probability is the chance the first autumn minimum of 32°F or lower occurs on or before the date.

ProbabilityDateHow to read it
10%October 4Earlier date. A first 32°F on or before this day is uncommon.
50%October 20Median.
90%November 4Later date. A first 32°F on or before this day is common.

32°F growing-season length

Days between the last spring 32°F and the first autumn 32°F. The figure is a length the season meets or exceeds at that probability, from NCEI, not a subtraction done on this site.

Probability the season is at least this longDays
10%200
50%178
90%156

28°F threshold

10%50%90%
Last, on or afterApril 26April 10March 30
First, on or beforeOctober 16November 3November 19
Season at least226 days206 days184 days

36°F threshold

10%50%90%
Last, on or afterMay 22May 4April 21
First, on or beforeSeptember 25October 7October 22
Season at least176 days155 days132 days

Station WILKES-BARRE INTL AP, PA US (USW00014777). Completeness flag S, 30 years used for the 32°F dates. NCEI’s annual probability of at least one day at or below 32°F is 100%. Freeze dates are conditional on that threshold occurring. Elevation 283.5 m. The same probability language applies to the 28°F and 36°F rows when those dates passed the same quality checks.

Planting calendar for Scranton · Zone 6b

Check a crop against this station

Scranton, PA

Zone 6bAverage annual extreme minimum -5°F to 0°F

Median last 32°F is April 23. Median first 32°F is October 20. The 50% growing-season length is 178 days. The green band runs from the median last frost to the median first frost. Thin ticks mark the 10%, 50%, and 90% dates.

Outside the median season Growing seasonTicks: 10%, 50%, and 90%

Pennsylvania. Nearest qualified station: WILKES-BARRE INTL AP, PA US (USW00014777), 5.8 miles. Median last 32°F April 23. Median first 32°F October 20. The 50% growing-season length is 178 days.

Open the ZIP page · Crop guides for Pennsylvania

32°F probabilities at this station
10%50%90%
Last 32°F on or afterMay 10April 23April 9
First 32°F on or beforeOctober 4October 20November 4

Column order matches the NCEI file: for the last freeze, 10% is the later date and 90% is the earlier date. How to read the probabilities.

A wall calendar surrounded by vegetables, herbs, seed packets, and watering cans.

Planting calendar

Windows below are from Penn State Extension, Starting Your Summer Vegetable Garden—Seeds or Transplants?, retrieved 2026-10-10. The page gives dates for much of Pennsylvania, not for named regions. Spinach is the crop placed in a named month, April, and that month is read as April 1 through April 30. Phrases such as “early April,” “mid-April to late May,” and “late May to early June” stay phrases, because the page does not give them a day. Crops the page times only as “after the danger of frost has passed” or “early spring,” with no month, are left off these windows.

Date checks use your device’s calendar and appear after the page loads.