Smiths Station, AL 36874 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Smiths Station, AL?
Around 03/21 is the usual last spring frost, about 205 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/18, about 243 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 Smiths Station, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 12 weeks of growing season left in Smiths Station 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
03/21 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/13 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Smiths Station compares
At roughly 243 frost-free days, Smiths Station places 8,291 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within AL, it ranks 265 of 809.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Smiths Station can differ from the 36874 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Smiths Station's frost date answer different questions.