When to shut off outdoor taps
Use your place's average first-frost date as a reminder to check outdoor water lines before cold weather. It is a climate normal, not a hard-freeze date or a forecast. Check your current forecast and fixture instructions before shutting off or reopening the water.
Annual planning reminders, not freeze alerts.
Use the dates as reminders, not forecasts
Water left in an outdoor faucet or the pipe behind it can freeze and expand, damaging the faucet or pipe. Disconnecting hoses and draining the line can reduce that risk; the right shutoff steps depend on the fixture and plumbing layout.
The tool uses average first and last frost dates as local seasonal cues. Frost normals do not tell you when the first hard freeze will happen this year. Check the current forecast and follow your fixture instructions before acting, especially before reopening in spring.
Shut-off and reopen dates for major cities
| City | Average first fall frost | One week after average last spring frost | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | NY | November 25 | April 2 |
| Los Angeles | CA | January 5 | January 16 |
| Chicago | IL | October 31 | April 18 |
| Houston | TX | December 28 | February 6 |
| Phoenix | AZ | December 25 | January 15 |
| Philadelphia | PA | November 10 | April 9 |
| San Antonio | TX | November 28 | March 5 |
| San Diego | CA | December 31 | January 13 |
| Dallas | TX | November 24 | March 15 |
| Austin | TX | December 3 | February 27 |
| Miami | FL | n/a | n/a |
| Tampa | FL | January 12 | January 27 |
| Atlanta | GA | November 9 | April 1 |
| Seattle | WA | November 17 | March 20 |
| Denver | CO | October 14 | May 10 |
| Boston | MA | November 9 | April 11 |
| Las Vegas | NV | December 10 | January 31 |
| Portland | OR | November 9 | April 5 |
| Minneapolis | MN | October 8 | May 7 |
| Detroit | MI | October 24 | May 7 |
| Nashville | TN | November 3 | April 7 |
| Charlotte | NC | November 3 | April 6 |
| Honolulu | HI | n/a | n/a |
| Anchorage | AK | September 29 | May 8 |
Questions, answered plainly
When should I prepare outdoor taps for winter?
Use the displayed average first-frost date as a planning reminder to check the outdoor line, not as a first-hard-freeze date or forecast. Disconnect hoses, shut off and drain the line if your fixture has an indoor valve, and use your current local forecast and fixture instructions to decide when.
Do I need to drain the line or just close the valve?
Close the indoor shutoff valve if you have one, then open the outdoor tap to drain any remaining water. Trapped water expands when it freezes and can split the pipe inside the wall, where the leak may not show until spring.
When can outdoor taps be turned back on?
The displayed date is a planning cue based on the average last spring frost, not a guarantee that freezing weather has ended. Check your current forecast and the fixture instructions before turning the water back on.
How this page was made
Data source: NOAA 30-year climate normals via the site dataset. The table and reminders show the average first fall frost and one week after the average last spring frost. Those dates are planning cues only, not forecasts of a hard freeze or proof that freezing weather has ended. Check the current forecast and fixture instructions. Content reviewed 2026-09-27. . Full notes on the methodology page.
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