Memphis, TN 38136 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Memphis, TN, ZIP 38136
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/16, roughly 200 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/16, about 244 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Memphis in Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 8a around Memphis has about 11 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/27 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Memphis compares
About 244 days separate Memphis's last and first frost, putting it 8,120 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within TN, it ranks 26 of 770.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Memphis can differ from the 38136 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Memphis's frost date answer different questions.