Odessa, TX 79762 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Odessa, TX, ZIP 79762
Around 03/15 is the usual last spring frost, about 199 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/16, about 243 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 Odessa, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 8b around Odessa has about 11 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
03/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 02/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/09 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Odessa compares
Odessa's growing season runs about 243 days, ranking 8,276 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within TX, it ranks 1,843 of 2,558.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Odessa can differ from the 79762 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8b and Odessa's frost date answer different questions.