FrostDateCheck

Shelby, MS 38774 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Shelby, MS?

Zone 8b

The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/15, about 199 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/11, about 241 frost-free days later.

Shelby sits in USDA Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.

What to do before the first frost

About 11 weeks of growing season left in Shelby 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

03/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/24 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/03 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Shelby compares

About 241 days separate Shelby's last and first frost, putting it 8,578 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MS, it ranks 246 of 523.

Learn more

the frost range covers how to read the range around Shelby's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Shelby can differ from the 38774 normal.