Frost dates in Knoxville, Tennessee

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 Knoxville is April 11, and the average first fall frost is October 28, from NOAA's Knoxville Exp Stn station, 5 miles from the middle of Knoxville. 1 year in 10 the last frost comes after April 29, and the first one by October 13. That leaves about 200 frost-free days. Knoxville is in USDA planting zone 7b.

Weather stations around Knoxville

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

Station	Last spring frost	First fall frost	Frost-free
Knoxville Exp Stn 5 mi away, 830 ft	April 11 1 in 10 after April 29	October 28 1 in 10 by October 13	200 days
Knoxville Mcghee Tyson Airport 11 mi away, 962 ft	April 1 1 in 10 after April 17	November 2 1 in 10 by October 21	215 days
Oak Ridge ASOS 17 mi away, 910 ft	March 31 1 in 10 after April 15	November 4 1 in 10 by October 22	218 days
Oak Ridge Atdd 17 mi away, 905 ft	April 5 1 in 10 after April 19	November 1 1 in 10 by October 19	210 days
Norris 18 mi away, 1,110 ft	April 22 1 in 10 after May 9	October 25 1 in 10 by October 11	186 days

Distances are from the middle of Knoxville 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 37916, at the middle of the city.

Your exact ZIP code

Knoxville 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 Tennessee, station by station.

Other Tennessee cities: Nashville · Memphis · Chattanooga · Clarksville · Murfreesboro

Nearby: Lexington, KY · Atlanta, GA