New Orleans, LA 70128 Frost Dates
Frost dates for New Orleans, LA, ZIP 70128
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 01/22, roughly 147 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 01/05, about 348 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts New Orleans in Zone 9b (25 to 30°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 9b around New Orleans has about 19 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.
The actual range around New Orleans's last frost
01/22 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/23 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/28 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How New Orleans compares
About 348 days separate New Orleans's last and first frost, putting it 2,367 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within LA, it ranks 5 of 710.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in New Orleans can differ from the 70128 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 9b and New Orleans's frost date answer different questions.