Frost dates in Louisville, Kentucky

NOAA 1991–2020 normals for a 32 °F freeze. Low spots and the edge of town run colder than downtown.

Short answer

The average last spring frost in Louisville is April 3, and the average first fall frost is November 3, from NOAA's Louisville Bowman Fld station, 4 miles from the middle of Louisville. 1 year in 10 the last frost comes after April 19, and the first one by October 21. That leaves about 214 frost-free days. Louisville is in USDA planting zone 7a.

Weather stations around Louisville

The first row is the date most people in Louisville go by. The others show how far the dates move across the area.

Station	Last spring frost	First fall frost	Frost-free
Louisville Bowman Fld 4 mi away, 540 ft	April 3 1 in 10 after April 19	November 3 1 in 10 by October 21	214 days
Louisville Wfo 3 mi away, 632 ft	April 6 1 in 10 after April 23	November 1 1 in 10 by October 21	209 days
Louisville Intl Airport 5 mi away, 488 ft	March 31 1 in 10 after April 16	November 7 1 in 10 by October 28	221 days
Louisville Mcalpine 11 mi away, 440 ft	March 31 1 in 10 after April 14	November 9 1 in 10 by October 31	223 days
Bernheim Forest 17 mi away, 550 ft	April 18 1 in 10 after May 6	October 25 1 in 10 by October 11	190 days

Distances are from the middle of Louisville as the Census Bureau maps it. The average date is NOAA's 50% date: half of years have a later last frost, or an earlier first one. Plan by the 1-in-10 date if a freeze would cost you plants. The planting zone is the USDA 2023 zone for ZIP code 40218, at the middle of the city.

Your exact ZIP code

Louisville covers a lot of ground. For the station nearest your own street, and its planting zone, type your ZIP code.

How these dates work

Frost dates come from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 Climate Normals, which work out from each weather station's daily lows how likely the last spring freeze and the first fall freeze (32 °F) are by each date. We use the station nearest the middle of your ZIP code and show its height and distance, since a station on a hill or by a lake can differ from your yard.

The average date is the 50% date: half of years have a freeze after the spring date or before the fall one. The 1-in-10 dates are NOAA's 10% dates, the ones to plan by if a late freeze would cost you plants. Within one yard, cold air pools in low spots while walls and paving hold heat, so some corners freeze before others.

More frost dates

All of Kentucky, station by station.

Other Kentucky cities: Lexington

Nearby: Cincinnati, OH · Indianapolis, IN · Clarksville, TN