Panhandle, TX 79068 Frost Dates
Panhandle, TX: when does the frost end?
Around 04/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 230 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/29, roughly 196 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Panhandle in Zone 7a (0 to 5°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
With roughly 9 weeks until Panhandle's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/15 isn't a guarantee
04/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/31 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/29 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Panhandle against the rest of the dataset
Panhandle's growing season runs about 196 days, ranking 18,994 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within TX, it ranks 2,457 of 2,558.
Learn more
Before leaning on 79068's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Panhandle can differ from the 79068 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Panhandle's frost date answer different questions.