New Orleans, LA 70159 Frost Dates
Frost dates for New Orleans, LA, ZIP 70159
The last spring frost here typically falls around 02/10, about 166 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/17, about 309 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 16 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
02/10 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/12 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How New Orleans compares
About 309 days separate New Orleans's last and first frost, putting it 3,607 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within LA, it ranks 101 of 710.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around New Orleans's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in New Orleans can differ from the 70159 normal.