Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 Frost Dates
Tuscaloosa, AL: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/18, roughly 202 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/10, roughly 239 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tuscaloosa in Zone 8a (10 to 15°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
With roughly 11 weeks until Tuscaloosa's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/18 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 02/26 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/04 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Tuscaloosa against the rest of the dataset
Tuscaloosa's growing season runs about 239 days, ranking 8,747 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within AL, it ranks 313 of 809.
Learn more
Before leaning on 35406's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Tuscaloosa can differ from the 35406 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Tuscaloosa's frost date answer different questions.