Austin, TX 78720 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Austin, TX, ZIP 78720
Around 02/20 is the usual last spring frost, about 176 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/03, about 291 frost-free days later.
Zone 9a (20 to 25°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 Austin, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 9a around Austin has about 14 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 02/20 isn't a guarantee
02/20 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 01/23 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 03/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Austin compares
About 291 days separate Austin's last and first frost, putting it 4,404 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within TX, it ranks 566 of 2,558.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Austin's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Austin can differ from the 78720 normal.