What comes to mind when you think of fall? I think of pumpkins, fall foliage, hay rides, corn mazes, pumpkin spice lattes, Halloween, Thanksgiving — the list goes on and on. But as a meteorologist, the changing of seasons, arrival of cooler weather and the first frost and freeze also come to mind.

The first fall freeze ranges from September through November for most of the U.S.

First Freeze

This is when the temperature drops to 32 degrees or lower for the first time in the colder months of the year. It signals the end of the growing season — it's the threshold when unprotected plants can become damaged when temperatures remain at or below freezing for multiple hours. Most vegetation is destroyed when temperatures reach 28 degrees or colder, which is called a hard freeze, according to NOAA.

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Date Depends On Location and Elevation

The map above shows the average date of the first fall freeze, using the latest 30-year period data (1991-2020) from NOAA.

(MORE: September Weather Changes You Can Typically Expect)

The first 32-degree low temperatures are usually experienced before or right around the time fall officially begins in the higher elevations of the West and near the Canadian border.

By the end of October, the average first freeze has occurred from much of the Northeast into the Midwest and even northern parts of the South. First freezes are common in November from the coastal mid-Atlantic into much of the Deep South.

Urban Heat Island Effect, Oceans Play A Role

New York City and Washington, D.C., are examples of the urban heat island effect, which keeps the cities themselves warmer than nearby suburbs.

The warming influence of oceans and other bodies of water also skews the first freeze date later in these locales compared to their slightly farther inland suburbs.

First Freeze Can Vary Year To Year

Different weather patterns each year can make the first freeze occur earlier or later than the average shown for a given city or region. In fact, the earliest freeze on record for the selection of cities below occurred nearly a month or more before the average date.

Frost Can Also Damage Plants

A freeze is more threatening to plants, but frost can also damage vegetation. So don't ignore those frost advisories! Frost can occur at temperatures between 33 and 36 degrees.

Tiffany Savona is a meteorologist for weather.com with more than 15 years of experience in forecasting the weather across the country.