There's no reason to wait any longer in North Carolina to start your spring planting unless you live in the mountains or foothills. Central and eastern parts of the state are now past the average date for the last freeze of the spring season. In western North Carolina, the average date for the last freeze does not come until late April or early May.
A cold snap does not appear likely for the Carolinas through the next couple of weeks. The long range outlook from the Climate Prediction Center shows warmer than normal temperatures are likely for the southeastern United States through the next week or two.
A recent analysis from Climate Central, an independent group of journalists and researchers that studies the impacts of climate change, showed the growing season has been getting longer in North Carolina over the last few decades. The frost free season is now about 22 days longer in the Raleigh area than it was in the 1970s.
Freezing temperatures likely will not occur again for most of the state until the fall. The average date for the first fall freeze ranges from early or mid October in the mountains to early or mid November along the coast.