May Is The Season Of Spring Frosts, But So Far We're Avoiding Freezes . No Guarantees Though

Some of our plants are in the living room window
and some tropical plants went into dormancy in a 
spare bedroom in our St. Albans, Vermont house.
We're waiting for the threat of frost to be over
before bringing them outdoors for the summer.
We're hoping the frost threat ends 
within another week or so, fingers crossed.

 I'm reluctant to release our tropical plants like the orange tree and the hibiscus from their winter prison in our small, but somewhat sunny spare bedroom.  

We've had some nice warm days that they would have enjoyed outdoors on the deck. But this cool weather pattern we're stuck in has us worried about frost. Which, as Captain Obvious would say, is bad for tropical plants. 

So far, clouds and wind have kept overnight temperatures above freezing, and we're hoping that continues. But, we have the National Weather Service to rescue us from tragic hibiscus deaths if we choose to bring the plants outdoors in the coming days. 

They're always good with the frost alerts. There's also a schedule for the spring frost and freeze advisories. 

The National Weather Service won't issue frost or freeze advisories until the growing season starts in a given spot. The growing season is defined as the period between the average date of the last spring freeze and the average date of the first fall freeze. 

Frost and freeze advisories and warnings started on May 1 in the Champlain Valley on nights when conditions warrant.  In most of the rest of Vermont, the National Weather Service won''t start with those advisories until May 11. In the Northeast Kingdom, you wouldn't hear a frost or freeze alert until May 21 and after.

That explains why you might see a frost advisory in early May for the Champlain Valley, but no freeze alerts for the rest of Vermont, even though it's colder there. 

In those areas away from the Champlain Valley, National Weather Service forecasts until May 11 will mention frosts if some is expected, but won't actually issue a frost advisory or warning until that growing season starts.

We will be subject to a frost risk for awhile yet. Hard freezes have hit Burlington as late as May 31, and light frosts have historic hit in early June on a few occasions. In the Northeast Kingdom, there's been frost every month of the year. Though recent summers up that way have been frost-free.

ACTUAL FROSTS?

We're keeping our eyes out for frosts as it is cooler than normal for this time of year. Any night over the next several days in which skies clear and winds go calm gives us a risk of frosts.

That might be tonight, but the Champlain Valley might be a couple degrees too warm for frost. We'll get updates this afternoon. If temperatures forecasts are adjusted downward, we'll get a frost advisory for the Champlain Valley, but for now, we're in the clear. 

Forecasts do mention frosts for the rest of the state, so if you are anywhere outside the Champlain Valley, sensitive plants should come indoors tonight. 

After a brief, sort of warmup this weekend, I think the risk of frost might come back for the first half of next week. Again, depending on how cloudy and breezy the nights are. On the bright side, I'm not seeing any signs of a really hard freeze. Just nights that get dangerously close to the freezing mark.k 

Remember, you can get frost even if temperatures are in the mid-30s. We measure temperatures about five feet off the ground. It's amazing how much colder it can be on still nights down near your feet.

We don't want to take our tropical plants outdoors until we're reasonable sure no more frosts are coming. Those plants and the soil-filled, large pots they are in are heavy!  We're too old to move them back and forth every night. 

There are signs that we might shift to a warmer weather pattern around May 18 or so. Then I can finally free Margaret (our orange tree) and Hector the hibiscus and the other plants out to the freedom of our outdoor deck, where they are happiest. And I am, too.