On Oct. 28, 2017, the last of Nebraska's weather stations recorded a hard freeze of 28 F, effectively bringing the state's growing season to an end.
The table below lists the date when each Mesonet station first reached the 28 F and 32 F thresholds this fall. Hard freeze conditions are defined as minimum temperatures reaching 28 F or lower. Frost conditions are met when the minimum temperature drops to 32 F or lower.
Whitman 5 NE recorded the first frost condition temperature on Sept. 6, which was well ahead of its average, typically Oct. 1. Nineteen stations in the northern and western portions of the state all recorded their first hard freeze conditions on Oct. 10. Seven of those recorded the hard freeze earlier than average; the remaining 12 recorded it later than average.
The table is color coded to reflect those numbers. Red indicates the first freeze or frost event occurred later than the 50 percent probability date based upon the 1981-2010 period. Blue signifies the event occurred earlier than the 50 percent probability date, while black indicates the event occurred on the 50 percent probability date. Mean freeze and frost dates are listed in columns 3 (28 F) and column 5 (32 F).
Probability data was supplied by the National Center for Environmental Information, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
