Orange Beach, AL 36561 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Orange Beach, AL, ZIP 36561
Around 02/28 is the usual last spring frost, about 184 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/29, about 277 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Orange Beach in Zone 9a (20 to 25°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 9a around Orange Beach has about 13 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.
Why 02/28 isn't a guarantee
02/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/31 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/20 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Orange Beach compares
About 277 days separate Orange Beach's last and first frost, putting it 4,973 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within AL, it ranks 21 of 809.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9a and Orange Beach's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Orange Beach's dates instead of trusting one.