Frost dates Florida Tampa

Frost dates in Tampa, Florida

Last spring frost Jan 20 First freeze of winter Jan 12 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Tampa is Jan 20 and the average first freeze of winter is Jan 12, measured at TAMPA INTL AP, about 5 miles from the city centre. Below: how sure those dates are, and what to start, sow and set out each week.

Average last spring frostJan 2032°F, 50% probability
Average first freeze of winterJan 1232°F, 50% probability

Winters are mild here: the first freeze of the cold season usually comes after New Year (Jan 12), close to the last one (Jan 20), so there is no frost-free season to count. Frost matters for a few weeks in midwinter only.

How sure is that date? NOAA probability levels for a 32°F freeze
ProbabilityFreeze still comes after (spring)First freeze has come by (winter)
90%Dec 27Feb 5
50%Jan 20Jan 12
10%Feb 10Dec 23

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Jan 20, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Feb 10. In 1 year in 10 the first freeze of the cold season arrives before Dec 23.

Measured at: TAMPA INTL AP, FL (NOAA station USW00012842), about 5 miles away at 19 ft, 28 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • ST PETERSBURG INTL AP, FL (NOAA station USW00012873), about 14 miles away at 11 ft, 17 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Jan 17, first freeze of winter Jan 14
  • ST PETERSBURG, FL (NOAA station USC00087886), about 16 miles away at 8 ft, 22 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Jan 17, first freeze of winter Jan 15

Seed-starting schedule for Tampa, FL

Counted from a last frost date of Jan 20 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Oct 1414 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekOct 14 to Oct 28
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionOct 14 to Oct 28
  2. Week of Oct 2113 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyOct 21 to Oct 28
  3. Week of Oct 2812 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryOct 28 to Nov 11
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachOct 28 to Nov 11
  4. Week of Nov 1110 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliNov 11 to Nov 25
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutNov 11 to Nov 25
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageNov 11 to Nov 25
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleNov 11 to Nov 25
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiNov 11 to Nov 25
  5. Week of Nov 189 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceNov 18 to Nov 25
  6. Week of Nov 258 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerNov 25 to Dec 9
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantNov 25 to Dec 9
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperNov 25 to Dec 9
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardNov 25 to Dec 9
  7. Week of Dec 27 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoDec 2 to Dec 16
  8. Week of Dec 96 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilDec 9 to Dec 23
    • Set transplants outSpinachDec 9 to Dec 30
  9. Week of Dec 234 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishDec 23 to Jan 6
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Dec 23
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipDec 23 to Jan 6
    • Set transplants outBroccoliDec 23 to Jan 6
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutDec 23 to Jan 6
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Dec 23
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Dec 23
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Dec 23
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Dec 23
    • Set transplants outLettuceDec 23 to Dec 30
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Dec 23
  10. Week of Dec 303 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberDec 30 to Jan 6
    • Set transplants outParsleyDec 30 to Jan 6
  11. Week of Jan 62 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonJan 6 to Jan 13
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinJan 6 to Jan 13
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashJan 6 to Jan 13
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashJan 6 to Jan 13
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniJan 6 to Jan 13
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoJan 6 to Jan 13
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Jan 6
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Jan 6
  12. Week of Jan 20Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Jan 20
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Jan 20
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Jan 20
  13. Week of Jan 271 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoJan 27 to Feb 3
    • Set transplants outCucumberJan 27 to Feb 3
    • Set transplants outTomatoJan 27 to Feb 3
  14. Week of Feb 32 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Feb 3
    • Set transplants outEggplantFeb 3 to Feb 10
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Feb 3
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Feb 3
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Feb 3
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Feb 3
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Feb 3
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Feb 3

Not in the city centre? Look up your own ZIP code

More in Florida

Where the numbers come from

Sources and method

Frost dates. U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Palecki, Durre, Applequist, Arguez and Lawrimore, 2021). These are 30-year station statistics for 1991 to 2020. "Frost" here means an air temperature of 32°F or lower at the station. We use 6,539 stations that have at least 10 years of record and a published date; 176 more are stations where a freeze is too rare for NOAA to date, and 180 are stations cold enough to have frost risk all year.

Probability level. The headline dates are NOAA's 50% level: in half of years the last spring freeze comes later than that date, and in half of years the first fall freeze comes earlier. The 10% and 90% levels are shown next to them. For tender plants, the 10% spring date is the safer one to plan from: a freeze follows it in only 1 year in 10.

Which station. Your ZIP code is matched to the nearest of those stations by straight-line distance from the ZIP code's centre point (GeoNames, geonames.org, CC BY 4.0; 40,979 ZIP codes in the 50 states and DC). Nearest is not always most alike: a station on a hill, in a valley or by the water can differ from your garden by a week or more. That is why the station's name, distance and elevation are shown with every result, along with two more stations nearby. NOAA makes the same point: the normals are limited between stations as distance grows horizontally and vertically.

Seed-starting offsets. Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden, a fact sheet from University of New Hampshire Extension. It gives each crop's weeks from seed to transplant and when it is safe to set out or sow relative to the last frost. The method is theirs too: take the planting date and count back the seed-to-transplant weeks. Where the fact sheet gives a range of planting dates, the start-indoors dates count back from the earliest one. The figures used, as the fact sheet states them:

  • Basil: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Bean: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Broccoli: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Brussels sprout: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cabbage: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cauliflower: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost.
  • Celery: Seed to transplant 10-12 weeks; set out after last frost.
  • Cucumber: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Eggplant: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks after last frost.
  • Kale: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Kohlrabi: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Leek: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Lettuce: Seed to transplant 4-5 weeks; set out 3-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Melon: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Onion: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsley: Seed to transplant 9-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsnip: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Pepper: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Potato: Plant seed potatoes in garden 1-2 weeks before last frost.
  • Pumpkin: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Radish: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Spinach: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 3-6 weeks before last frost.
  • Summer squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Sweet potato: Plant slips in garden 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Swiss chard: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost; or plant seed in garden 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Tomato: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Turnip: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Winter squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Zucchini: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.

Not on the calendar. The same fact sheet times these by soil temperature, not by frost date, so they get no date here:

  • Pea: as soon as the soil thaws.
  • Beet: when the soil warms to 45°F.
  • Carrot: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Corn: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Cucumber, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, zucchini: direct-sow when the soil warms to 70°F.

Rutabaga is left out: the fact sheet gives it New Hampshire calendar dates, not a frost offset.

The fact sheet was written for New Hampshire. The offsets are relative to the last frost, so they carry to other places with a spring frost, but where winters are mild many cool-season crops are grown in fall and winter instead. Your state's extension service has the local calendar. Dates are 30-year statistics, not a forecast: check the forecast before setting tender plants out.

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