Tuscaloosa, AL 35482 Frost Dates
Tuscaloosa, AL: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/18, about 202 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/10, roughly 239 days after the last spring frost.
Tuscaloosa sits in USDA Zone 8a (10 to 15°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a 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.
Why 03/18 isn't a guarantee
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
About 239 days separate Tuscaloosa's last and first frost, putting it 8,750 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within AL, it ranks 316 of 809.
Learn more
Before leaning on 35482's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Tuscaloosa's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Tuscaloosa can differ from the 35482 normal.