Forest, LA 71242 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Forest, LA, ZIP 71242
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/05, roughly 189 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/24, about 263 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 Forest, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 8b around Forest 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
03/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/13 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/22 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Forest compares
Forest's growing season runs about 263 days, ranking 6,150 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within LA, it ranks 490 of 710.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Forest's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Forest can differ from the 71242 normal.