FrostDateCheck

Austin, TX 78757 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Austin, TX?

Zone 9a

The last spring frost here typically falls around 02/20, about 176 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/03, about 291 frost-free days later.

Austin sits in USDA Zone 9a (20 to 25°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.

What to do before the first frost

About 14 weeks of growing season left in Austin before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

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

At roughly 291 frost-free days, Austin places 4,413 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within TX, it ranks 575 of 2,558.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Austin can differ from the 78757 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 9a and Austin's frost date answer different questions.