Thornton, TX 76687 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Thornton, TX?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/13, about 197 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/22, about 251 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 Thornton, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 12 weeks of growing season left in Thornton before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 03/13 isn't a guarantee
03/13 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Thornton compares
At roughly 251 frost-free days, Thornton places 7,394 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within TX, it ranks 1,659 of 2,558.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Thornton can differ from the 76687 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Thornton's frost date answer different questions.