Natchez, LA 71456 Frost Dates
71456, near Natchez, LA: the frost window
Around 02/28 is the usual last spring frost, about 184 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 12/01, roughly 275 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Natchez in Zone 9a (20 to 25°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
Natchez's growing season runs out in roughly 14 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 02/28 isn't a guarantee
02/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 01/31 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/17 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Natchez against the rest of the dataset
Natchez's growing season runs about 275 days, ranking 5,133 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within LA, it ranks 306 of 710.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 71456: local microclimates, on what one yard in Natchez can differ from the 71456 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 9a and Natchez's frost date answer different questions.