Laurel, MT 59063 Frost Dates
59063, near Laurel, MT: the frost window
Around 05/29 is the usual last spring frost, about 274 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 09/15, roughly 107 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Laurel in Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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
Laurel's growing season runs out in roughly 3 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/29 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 05/14 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 06/17 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Laurel against the rest of the dataset
Laurel's growing season runs about 107 days, ranking 39,558 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MT, it ranks 283 of 392.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 59063: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 5a and Laurel's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Laurel's dates instead of trusting one.