The growing season has officially begun in Maryland for all counties, with the exception of Garrett County, where the growing season starts on May 5th.
The growing season is defined as the period of the year when temperatures are consistently above 32°F. This is the time of year when conditions are warm enough to support plant growth.
Climatologists typically use the most recent 30 years of data to determine the average last occurrence of sub-freezing temperatures in the spring, as well as the first occurrence of sub-freezing temperatures in the fall. This helps serve as a guide for farmers when making important planting and management decisions. However, it’s important to remember that this is only an average—there is still year-to-year variability. In some years, freezing temperatures have occurred as late as May. For example, on May 11th, 1924, the morning low dropped to 32°F. More recently, on April 29th, 2022, we also reached 32°F.
With all that being said, I am not forecasting any sub-freezing temperatures over the next 6–10 days.
