Benton, LA 71151 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Benton, LA, ZIP 71151
Around 02/28 is the usual last spring frost, about 184 days away. 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
Benton's growing season runs about 268 days, ranking 5,787 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within LA, it ranks 395 of 710.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8b and Benton's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Benton's dates instead of trusting one.