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 32738
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts ZIP 32738 in zone 9b (the coldest night of a typical year: 25 to 30°F).
The nearest station, Sanford station, FL, is 8 miles from the ZIP's center: its last spring frost comes after January 26 in half of years and after February 24 in one year in ten. By the USDA's method its plant hardiness zone is 10a.
| Station | Distance | Elevation | Last frost (median) | 1 in 10 after | First frost (median) | Hardiness zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanford station, FL | 8 mi | 12 ft | January 26 | February 24 | January 12 | 10a |
| Sanford, FLOrlando Sanford Airport | 9 mi | 55 ft | January 24 | February 23 | January 9 | 10a |
| DeLand, FLDeland (1 mi SSE) | 10 mi | 25 ft | February 17 | March 19 | December 30 | 9b |
| New Smyrna Beach, FLNew Smyrna Beach - Marine Discov | 19 mi | 16 ft | January 28 | February 28 | January 9 | – |
| Daytona Beach, FLDaytona Beach International Airport | 21 mi | 31 ft | January 30 | February 26 | January 8 | 9b |
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 Sanford station
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) | March 6 | February 17 | February 4 | January 8 | January 6 | December 9 |
| 32°F | February 24 | February 6 | January 26 | December 31 | January 12 | December 20 |
| 28°F (hard freeze) | February 6 | January 27 | January 13 | December 25 | January 11 | December 19 |
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.