Columbia, MS 39429 Frost Dates
Columbia, MS: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/05, roughly 189 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/19, roughly 262 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Columbia in Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 12 weeks until Columbia's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 02/11 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/24 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Columbia against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 262 frost-free days, Columbia places 6,230 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MS, it ranks 48 of 523.
Learn more
Before leaning on 39429's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Columbia can differ from the 39429 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8b and Columbia's frost date answer different questions.