At this time of year, the curious want to know when we’ll see our first freeze. Gardeners are hoping for an extended growing season, and allergy suffers are hoping for an end to the pollen. Here in Manhattan history says that it can come anytime now. The earliest recorded freeze – meaning temperatures reached 32 oF or lower-- is September 13th. In western Kansas, that can occur even earlier. For Colby, St. Francis, Tribune, and Cimarron among others, September 3, 1974 marked the earliest freeze on record. On the other hand, those that would like a nice frost to kill the pollen aggravating their allergies might have to wait awhile. The latest date for a first frost for Manhattan is November 10th and that happened in 1998. In Colby, it is October 28th, 2014. Looking at the period of record for Manhattan, the average date for the first frost is October 14th; for Colby it is October 4th.
Mary Knapp, Weather Data Library
mknapp@ksu.edu