Post-Mother’s Day frost

frost-covered car I’m pretty sure heard one of the MPR meteorologists last week advising people to wait till after Mother’s Day to plant annuals and vegetables.  If so, oops! There was patchy frost here in Northfield this morning. Our backyard thermometer read 33 degrees and my car windows were coated.

I see former Strib/WCCO meteorologist Paul Douglas is now blogging for the St. Cloud Times. His blog post Sunday morning says:

Don’t let the daffodils and tulips fool you. Only the brave (and foolhardy) are planting annuals this early. Last night’s patchy frost was a rude reminder that frost is quite prevalent across central Minnesota through the third week of May. The general rule of thumb holds: if you want to be ABSOLUTELY safe: wait until Memorial Day to plant your vegetable patch.

6 Comments

  1. Bright Spencer said:

    People do and should be familiar with enough to know where their garden mini climates are located.
    Outside areas near windows or walls can be a few degrees warmer than places that don’t have protection from wind and are highly shaded during the day. Of course we wish to err on the side of caution, but if you know what you are doing, you can get another week or two out of the season.

    May 11, 2009
  2. Bright Spencer said:

    Strike mini climate and make it micro climate.

    May 11, 2009
  3. John S. Thomas said:

    NWS predicts 39 tonight, and 34 Saturday night. That is awful close, especially Saturday with the moisture in the air.

    May 15, 2009
  4. John S. Thomas said:

    FROST ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 7 AM CDT SUNDAY
    UNTIL 12:15PM CDT
    Urgent – Weather Message National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 407 AM CDT Sat May 16 2009

    …Frost Advisory In Effect From 3 AM To 7 AM CDT Sunday…

    The National Weather Service In Twin Cities/Chanhassen Has Issued A Frost Advisory…Which Is In Effect From 3 AM To 7 AM CDT Sunday.

    Expect Widespread Frost Late Tonight As A Cold High Pressure Area Moves Over Central Minnesota And West Central Wisconsin.

    May 16, 2009
  5. John S. Thomas said:

    I was also going to say that the forecast was for 39 last night, and I am showing 36 right now. We are going to be covering everything and heating the greenhouse tonight.

    Good luck to everyone tonight. I hope that everyone didn’t plant too early. 😎

    May 16, 2009
  6. Does anyone miss this discussion thread of frost warnings in light of our record highs?

    May 20, 2009

Leave a Reply to John S. ThomasCancel reply