Frost-Free Winter Days: A History (1970 - 2023)

 

 

During a typical winter (Dec. 1-Feb. 28/29), nearly 40% of the days have temperatures that stay above freezing for the entire day.  (Some might be surprised to learn that there are nearly twice as many frost-free days as there are days at freezing or colder - 35 vs. 18).  There have been as few as 15 of these "January thaw" days (winter of 1969-70) and as many as 60 (the winter of 2022-23). 

 

Since 1970 there have been 29 streaks of frost-free days that lasted 10 days or longer; half of the winters have had at least one; seven had two (the most recent was the winter of 2016-17).  The longest lasted 34 days during the winter of 2015-16, lasting from Dec. 1 thru Jan. 3; there was also one of 31 days in the winter of 2006-07, between Dec. 10 and Jan. 9.  December 2015 also had an eighteen-day steak in which the temperature never fell below 45°, and an eight-day streak in which the temperature never fell below 50°.