Safe to Plant

Lhoka, Tibet, China

Frost dates for Lhoka

The full distribution rather than a single date. Every figure below is a percentile of 30 years of daily minimum temperatures at this location, expressed as the date it fell on.

Median last spring frost

11 June

Half of years are later than this. Not a planting date.

Median first autumn frost

26 August

The far end of the outdoor season.

Frost-free season

77 days

Between those two dates in a median year.

Last and first frost by severity

Read a row as: in this fraction of years, the last frost of spring had already happened by this date. The 90% column is the cautious planting date; the 10% column is the gamble.

Light frost — nights at or below 0°C (32°F). Air temperature reaches freezing. Kills basil, beans and unhardened tomatoes; hardy crops shrug it off.
Frost 1 year in 10 Median 9 years in 10 Earliest Latest
Last of spring 31 May 11 Jun 20 Jun 25 May 10 Jul
First of autumn 29 Jul 26 Aug 7 Sep 22 Jul 14 Sep
Frost-free days 99 77 39 every year on record saw this
Moderate frost — nights at or below -2.2°C (28°F). Damages half-hardy plants and most blossom. This is the threshold that decides a fruit crop.
Frost 1 year in 10 Median 9 years in 10 Earliest Latest
Last of spring 17 May 30 May 7 Jun 9 May 19 Jun
First of autumn 4 Sep 24 Sep 8 Oct 20 Aug 13 Oct
Frost-free days 144 117 89 every year on record saw this
Hard frost — nights at or below -4.4°C (24.1°F). Ground freezes and even hardy crops check their growth. Effectively the end of the outdoor year.
Frost 1 year in 10 Median 9 years in 10 Earliest Latest
Last of spring 4 May 13 May 28 May 29 Apr 4 Jun
First of autumn 22 Sep 8 Oct 16 Oct 17 Sep 20 Oct
Frost-free days 165 148 117 every year on record saw this

Dates in the southern hemisphere are computed on a growing year that starts in July, which is why "last of spring" falls where it should rather than in the middle of the calendar.

Chance of frost, week by week

Jan Mar Apr Jul Sep Oct Dec
Chance of at least one air frost during each week of the year, measured across the full record. The flat stretch in the middle is your frost-free season.

Temperature through the year

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F
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A
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J
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Mean monthly temperature across the record. Months shown in blue average at least one air frost.

Monthly means and average number of frost nights.
Month Mean low Mean high Frost nights
January -15.2°C -0.2°C 31
February -12.6°C 1.6°C 28.3
March -7.5°C 5.3°C 31
April -5.3°C 9.5°C 30
May -2°C 14°C 25.1
June 1.8°C 17.5°C 4
July 2.8°C 16.9°C 0.3
August 2.2°C 16°C 1.5
September 0.2°C 14.4°C 12.4
October -4.3°C 10.5°C 29.7
November -7.7°C 5.2°C 30
December -12.7°C 1.8°C 31

Turn these dates into a planting calendar →