Your Average Dates For First Season Air And Ground Frost

[damianslaw]

Thought I'd start this thread now we are entering the time of year when for many of us prospects of recording our first ground frost of the season increase rapidly as each day of the new season passes.

Would be interested to hear when people on average experience their first ground and air frost of the season.

For here - I don't have the stats, but I suspect on average we see our first ground frost during the first or second week of October (slim chance we may see it on Sat morning), and air frost sometime after the 20th Oct or so but usually before the month is out.

Anyhow would like to hear other people's views.

[Aaron]

I'd say our first ground frost would usually occur in early October and the final ground frost in mid or late May.

The first air frost, late October, last, early May.

Saturday morning was looking promising for wide spread ground frost but now so much now.. sad.

[Isolated Frost]

Air frost, generally early to mid November.

Ground frost, maybes around now between halloween?

[A Winter's Tale]

First Frost = sometime in October

Last Frost = sometime in Spring.

Speaking of frosts is there any sign of frosts this week after a poorer run on the models.

[Isolated Frost]

No, not really, either mild and cloudy or cool and wet, not frost conditions at all.

[vizzy2004]

Frost data since 1999 here in York

Ground Frost:

1999: 5th October

2000: 22nd October

2001: 5th November

2002: 13th October

2003: 24th September

2004: 13th November

2005: 5th October

2006: 1st November

2007: 7th October

2008: 3rd October

2009: n/a

2010: 17th October

Earliest been 24th of September and lastest 13th of November so quite a big difference but usually the first 2 weeks of October is the most common.

Air Frost:

1999: 5th December

2000: 15th November

2001: 5th November

2002: 19th October

2003: 22nd October

2004: 23rd November

2005: 14th November

2006: 3rd November

2007: 16th November

2008: 28th October

2009: n/a

2010: 25th November

Earliest 19th of October and latest 5th of December. Most likely to have the first air frost here around mid November id say.

[Aaron]

First Frost = sometime in October

Last Frost = sometime in Spring.

Speaking of frosts is there any sign of frosts this week after a poorer run on the models.

There was suppose to be on Saturday morning, not anymore it seems, just vile mild weather,

[Interitus]

Air frost, generally early to mid November.

Ground frost, maybes around now between halloween?

Surprised, those dates seem a little late considering your location.

[Isolated Frost]

It may seem so but generally the sea around us keeps us 2c warmer than say 50 further miles inland, and generally only cool, slack northerlies or hp cells over the nation delivers air frosts here.

[Backtrack]

We really do struggle to get a frost before November unless we do get a cold Northerly. As you know an Easterly at this time of year doesn't cut it, it's too mild over in the continent.

As for the latest frost, again it depends on the airflow, probably early April.

[sundog]

Dont usually get a ground frost until the first half of Nov and an air frost the second half of Nov.

[cheeky_monkey]

1st ground frost this year was 16th August...1st air frost was 1st September for my location..8 air frosts in total for this season so far.

[Evening thunder]

Not sure about some of the first ground frost dates but from looking at my weather records:

Ground frosts: mainly guessing from air temp mins.

2007: 0.8C on the 18th October but possibly before the 4th Oct as the Station started recording then.

2008: 3.9C on the 18th September, or perhaps more likely 1.3C on the 4th October.

2009: 3.3C on the 25th September, or 2.8C 12th October/2.0C 13th October.

2010: 3.0C 30th August (yes that's not a typo!) ground frost observed.

Air frosts:

2007: -1.8C 12th November (then -2.3C in the evening)

2008: -0.1C 22nd October

2009: -2.5C 1st December (due to very mild November)

2010: -0.1C 26th September

I'm a bit surprised some peoples aren't earlier than they are.

[Interitus]

It may seem so but generally the sea around us keeps us 2c warmer than say 50 further miles inland, and generally only cool, slack northerlies or hp cells over the nation delivers air frosts here.

Well, for comparison in the Met Office 1971-2000 averages Durham averages 1.7 air frost in October, and that's less than 10 miles to your south and the same distance from the sea.

[Isolated Frost]

I was referring to last 5-6 years Durham records - the 71-00 average was probably higher as the clima would generally have been cooler back then. A October air frost before say the 15th/20th is quite unlikely - especially this year under atlantic-dominated synoptics.

[Interitus]

Last 6 years Durham October air frosts

2005 0

2006 0

2007 3

2008 2

2009 0

2010 1

[Isolated Frost]

Last 6 years Durham October air frosts

2005 0

2006 0

2007 3

2008 2

2009 0

2010 1

Yes, so half the time, no frosts, the other times, the odd frost or couple. In the last 10 years at Durham the average October frost count is 1.1.