Albuquerque, NM 87121 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Albuquerque, NM, ZIP 87121
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/15, roughly 230 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/27, about 193 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Albuquerque in Zone 7b (5 to 10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7b around Albuquerque has about 9 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.
Why 04/15 isn't a guarantee
04/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/31 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/30 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Albuquerque compares
At roughly 193 frost-free days, Albuquerque places 19,667 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NM, it ranks 136 of 427.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Albuquerque's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Albuquerque can differ from the 87121 normal.