Gallup, NM 87317 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Gallup, NM, ZIP 87317
Around 05/31 is the usual last spring frost, about 276 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/28, about 119 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 Gallup, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6b around Gallup has about 4 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
05/31 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/15 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/14 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Gallup compares
About 119 days separate Gallup's last and first frost, putting it 39,126 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NM, it ranks 383 of 427.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6b and Gallup's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Gallup's dates instead of trusting one.