Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Tuscaloosa, AL, ZIP 35401
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/18, roughly 202 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/10, about 239 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tuscaloosa in Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 8b around Tuscaloosa has about 11 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
The actual range around Tuscaloosa's last frost
03/18 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/26 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Tuscaloosa compares
Tuscaloosa's growing season runs about 239 days, ranking 8,742 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within AL, it ranks 308 of 809.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Tuscaloosa can differ from the 35401 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8b and Tuscaloosa's frost date answer different questions.