PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The average start to the growing season in the Scranton and Williamsport areas is this week, the last week of April.
It is not an exact science, but since record-keeping began in 1901, the average last 32-degree temperature recorded for the spring season is around April 25 in Scranton and around April 28 in Williamsport.
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In colder places, like the Poconos and the Northern Tier, the average start to the growing season is a bit later, around mid-May.
The latest 32-degree spring temperature ever recorded in the Scranton area was in 1956. It fell below 32 degrees on May 25 that year.
Last year, we had a hard freeze very late in the season on May 18.
Newswatch 16 spent the early morning hours that day at Heller Orchards in Wapwallopen. The Heller family used wind machines to help protect the fruit trees. They also built more than 100 campfires to create warmth for the peach trees.
At OHF Orchards in Columbia County, farmers lost nearly 40 percent of the overall yield in that late-season freeze.
An overnight low temperature of 32 degrees that late in May has only happened five other times in the Scranton area.
It does not need to be below freezing for frost to form. In fact, if other conditions are right, like clear skies, light winds, and moisture in the air, patchy frost can form between 38 and 42 degrees. Areas of frost are likely between 37 and 33 degrees, and a widespread frost or freeze can happen with temperatures below 32 degrees.