Alpine, TX 79842 Frost Dates
79842, near Alpine, TX: the frost window
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/07, about 222 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/01, roughly 205 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Alpine in Zone 8b (15 to 20°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
Alpine's growing season runs out in roughly 9 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/07 isn't a guarantee
04/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/19 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/26 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Alpine against the rest of the dataset
Alpine's growing season runs about 205 days, ranking 16,237 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within TX, it ranks 2,425 of 2,558.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 79842: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 8b and Alpine's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Alpine's dates instead of trusting one.