Columbus, GA 31902 Frost Dates
31902, near Columbus, GA: the frost window
Around 03/05 is the usual last spring frost, about 189 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/23, roughly 265 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Columbus in Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Columbus's growing season runs out in roughly 12 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 03/05 isn't a guarantee
03/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 02/11 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/24 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Columbus against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 265 frost-free days, Columbus places 5,950 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within GA, it ranks 128 of 921.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 31902: the frost range, on how to read the range around Columbus's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates, on what one yard in Columbus can differ from the 31902 normal.