Sweet Water, AL 36736 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Sweet Water, AL?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/10, about 194 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/21, about 257 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Sweet Water, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 12 weeks of growing season left in Sweet Water before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/10 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/18 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/29 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Sweet Water compares
About 257 days separate Sweet Water's last and first frost, putting it 6,756 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within AL, it ranks 158 of 809.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Sweet Water can differ from the 36736 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Sweet Water's frost date answer different questions.