FrostDateCheck

Odessa, TX 79764 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Odessa, TX?

Zone 8b

Around 03/19 is the usual last spring frost, about 203 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/11, about 235 frost-free days later.

Odessa sits in USDA Zone 8b (15 to 20°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 11 weeks of growing season left in Odessa before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

Why 03/19 isn't a guarantee

03/19 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Odessa compares

At roughly 235 frost-free days, Odessa places 9,554 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within TX, it ranks 2,018 of 2,558.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Odessa can differ from the 79764 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 8b and Odessa's frost date answer different questions.