Frost dates by ZIP code: The nearest NOAA stations to your ZIP, 1991-2020 normals
Enter a five-digit ZIP code. PlainClimate finds its center (Census Bureau 2024) and the five nearest NOAA stations with frost dates, and shows each station's last spring and first autumn 32°F dates with its distance and elevation.
Frost dates near ZIP 18505
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts ZIP 18505 in zone 6b (the coldest night of a typical year: -5 to 0°F).
The nearest station, Avoca, PA, is 6 miles from the ZIP's center: its last spring frost comes after April 23 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten. By the USDA's method its plant hardiness zone is 6b.
| Station | Distance | Elevation | Last frost (median) | 1 in 10 after | First frost (median) | Hardiness zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avoca, PAWilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport | 6 mi | 930 ft | April 23 | May 10 | October 20 | 6b |
| Francis E Walter Dam, PA | 19 mi | 1,509 ft | May 7 | May 23 | October 6 | – |
| Mount Pocono, PAPocono Mountains Municipal Airport | 22 mi | 1,916 ft | May 6 | May 23 | October 8 | 6a |
| Hawley, PA1 mi E | 26 mi | 890 ft | May 10 | May 26 | October 4 | 6a |
| Pleasant Mount (1 mi W), PA | 26 mi | 1,800 ft | May 14 | May 29 | October 1 | 5b |
Frost comes later in spring at higher and colder stations and earlier in low, open ground: prefer a station at a similar elevation to yours. Hardiness zone in the table: the USDA's rule (the average of each year's coldest night, 1991-2020) applied to the station's own record.
Every frost threshold at Avoca
NOAA publishes the dates for several temperatures and odds. A 30% spring date means a 3-in-10 chance of a later frost (the convention almanacs use); 50% is the median; 10% the cautious date.
| Threshold | Spring, 10% | Spring, 30% | Spring, 50% | Spring, 90% | Autumn, 50% | Autumn, 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F (light frost) | May 22 | May 12 | May 4 | April 21 | October 7 | September 25 |
| 32°F | May 10 | April 30 | April 23 | April 9 | October 20 | October 4 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | April 26 | April 17 | April 10 | March 30 | November 3 | October 16 |
| 24°F | April 12 | April 4 | March 31 | March 17 | November 16 | November 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals; ZIP centers: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. Autumn 10%: one year in ten has its first frost before this date.