Tuesday morning, frost advisories were issued across the region. It wasn’t the first time. Last Saturday morning, many gardens from one end of Atlantic Canada to the other had been kissed by an early fall frost.
Ken Rideout
It was 2 degrees at 6:00 a.m. in Bible Hill and the rooftops were frosty, you could see them sparkling! By 8:00 a.m. it was 6 degrees and the frost was gone.
Colleen Aucoin
My sister had ice on her windshield this morning in Enfield, N.S.
Corrina M. Byers
Frost in my garden so thick it looked like it had snowed out, luckily we went and covered everything the night before, this is in Saint John, N.B.
Chrissy Van Heighten
Heavy frost in Saltsprings, Antigonish. Ice on the car.
It seems early, but is it? It is, at least in most areas. Here’s a look at a sampling of average first frost dates:
New Brunswick
Edmundston - September 18
Fredericton - September 22
Grand Falls - September 24
Bathurst - September 26
Moncton - September 27
Saint John - October 4
NOVA SCOTIA:
Shelburne - September 29
Kentville - October 5
Sydney - October 13
Yarmouth - October 18
Halifax - October 20
Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown - October 9
Summerside - October 19
NEWFOUNDLAND/LABRADOR
Labrador City - September 7
St Anthony - September 26
Gander - September 30
Deer Lake - October 12
St. John’s - October 12
Stephenville - October 13
While a fall frost is not always welcome news, Grandma embraced the first frost. She wouldn’t pick the turnips from her garden until a light frost had passed. She believed that frost sweetened the carrots.
She was right.
When frost hits, the water inside a plant freezes. Some plants fight back by producing more sugar which allows them to tolerate a lower temperature without freezing. It also means that the plants become sweeter and tastier. Beets, carrots, turnips, and parsnips are delicious after the first frost but before the ground freezes.
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Cindy Day is the chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network
