Ragweed season in Florida ends around January 10
Ragweed doesn't stop on a schedule. It keeps flowering until a freeze kills the plants, which is why the end of the season is a weather question rather than a calendar one — and in Florida, the answer sits around January 10 in a typical year.
Is ragweed season still going in Florida?
- Ragweed In season now — about 5 months to the typical first frost
Status comes from the typical season window for this area, not from a pollen count — a cool spring or a late frost moves the real dates by a week or two either way. These are the windows for Florida.
Why the end of the season is a frost date
Two thresholds matter, and NOAA records both. The first 32°F frost is the one that ends ragweed season. The first 28°F hard freeze, which follows it, is what finishes off the plants for good. City tables on this site show both.
These are fifty-fifty dates, not deadlines. At each city's own weather station, NOAA's 30-year record puts half of the first freezes before the date and half after — so ragweed ends early in a cold autumn and hangs on well past the date in a warm one.
Many people plan ahead of the season; if that includes anything medical, ask your doctor.
Where in Florida it ends first
Frost doesn't switch a state off all at once. It reaches the coldest corners of Florida around November 21 and the mildest around January 13 — 53 days apart, so ragweed season can be finished at one end of the state while it's still going at the other.
| City | First frost (32°F) | Hard freeze (28°F) |
|---|---|---|
| Tallahassee | November 21 | December 6 |
| Pensacola | December 9 | January 1 |
| Jacksonville | January 5 | January 14 |
| Sarasota | January 10 | rarely reached |
| Melbourne | January 12 | rarely reached |
| Tampa | January 12 | rarely reached |
| Cape Coral | January 13 | rarely reached |
| Orlando | January 13 | rarely reached |
| Key West | rarely freezes | rarely reached |
| Miami | rarely freezes | rarely reached |
Based on 30 years of NOAA frost records (1991–2020).
What comes after
There is no quiet stretch to speak of in Florida: tree pollen opens the next year in mid-December, before frost has finished off the last of the ragweed. The two seasons overlap by weeks.
The full Florida pollen year — tree, grass and ragweed, with the dates each one starts — is on the Florida season page. For how ragweed works nationally, see ragweed season.
Common questions
When does ragweed season end in Florida?
Around January 10 in a typical year — the day the first freeze usually arrives in Florida. A warm autumn pushes it later; an early cold snap ends it sooner.
Does the first frost really end it?
Effectively, yes — and that is what makes the date worth looking up. Common ragweed is an annual: it grows from seed every spring and has no way to survive a freeze, so the cold kills the plants outright rather than slowing them down. A dead plant releases no more pollen, which is why the first frost is an ending and not just a quiet spell.
Does it end everywhere in Florida at once?
No. The first freeze crosses Florida over roughly 53 days — earliest around November 21, latest around January 13 — so ragweed season is finished at one end of the state while it is still running at the other. The city table above gives the local date.
What comes after ragweed in Florida?
Tree pollen, and it doesn't wait. Cypress and red cedar opens the next Florida pollen year in mid-December — while the last of the ragweed is still going.
Sources: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 (first-frost and hard-freeze dates) · Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America · Iowa State University Extension — common ragweed. Season windows reviewed August 2026.