Elberta, AL 36530 Frost Dates
36530, near Elberta, AL: the frost window
Around 02/28 is the usual last spring frost, about 184 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/29, roughly 277 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elberta in Zone 9a (20 to 25°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
Elberta's growing season runs out in roughly 13 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 02/28 isn't a guarantee
02/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 01/31 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/20 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Elberta against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 277 frost-free days, Elberta places 5,026 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within AL, it ranks 22 of 809.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 36530: the frost range, on how to read the range around Elberta's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates, on what one yard in Elberta can differ from the 36530 normal.