Benton, LA 71120 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Benton, LA, ZIP 71120
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 02/28, roughly 184 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/24, about 268 frost-free days later.
Zone 8b (15 to 20°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Benton, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 8b around Benton has about 13 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.
Why 02/28 isn't a guarantee
02/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/04 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Benton compares
About 268 days separate Benton's last and first frost, putting it 5,777 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within LA, it ranks 385 of 710.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Benton can differ from the 71120 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8b and Benton's frost date answer different questions.