First Freeze for Autumn 2013: How Does it Compare?
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday will likely produce the first freeze events of the season across most of the lower elevations of North Carolina. Higher elevations have already experienced a freeze.
How does the timing of the first freeze in 2013 compare with historical climatology?
Below is a table with dates of average, earliest, and latest freeze for a few lower-elevation sites across the state. (Note that we’re defining a freeze as minimum temperature ≤ 32°F). This table was produced using statistics from our Climate Thresholds tool.
| Location | Average First Freeze Date | Earliest Date | Latest Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greensboro | November 1 | October 4, 1974 | December 1, 1964 |
| Charlotte | November 7 | October 9, 2000 | December 10, 1989 |
| Fayetteville | November 7 | September 20, 1971 | December 3, 1956 |
| Elizabeth City | November 12 | October 21, 1940 | December 11, 1919 |
| Raleigh | November 13 | October 3, 1974 | December 27, 1992 |
So the timing of this year’s freeze is a bit early, but not unusually so. Most of North Carolina experiences their first freeze in the first couple weeks of November. This year, it comes about a week early.
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