Freezing temperatures in May might seem out of place, but they’re really not

Freezing temperatures in May might seem out of place, but they’re really not.

Even though the grass is green and we’ve had a few warm days this spring, it’s typical for chilly weather to come back.

Over the past three decades, the average last 32-degree temperature in Fargo’s Hector Airport is May 8. At the Grand Forks airport, it’s May 12, but this is only an average.

Actual last frost days in any given year have been as early as mid April and as late as late June.

That’s right, I said late June. Fargo had a freeze on June 20 of 1969 when the temperature dropped down to 30 degrees.

Fortunately June frost is extremely rare, but frost in May is actually quite typical, although it may seem out of place.

The thing about predicting frost that’s hard is knowing which frost will be the last one of the season.

It’s very hard to predict more than a few days in advance when another cold wave will roll south out of the sub-arctic regions.

So plant away, gardeners, but always be prepared to cover those plants until full summer has arrived.