Thornton, AR 71766 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Thornton, AR, ZIP 71766
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 03/26, roughly 210 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/06, about 226 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Thornton in Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 8a around Thornton has about 10 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
03/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/06 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/13 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Thornton compares
About 226 days separate Thornton's last and first frost, putting it 11,292 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within AR, it ranks 316 of 687.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Thornton's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Thornton's dates instead of trusting one.