Kirtland, NM 87420 Frost Dates
Kirtland, NM: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/11, roughly 226 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/01, roughly 200 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Kirtland in Zone 7a (0 to 5°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
With roughly 9 weeks until Kirtland's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/24 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/02 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Kirtland against the rest of the dataset
About 200 days separate Kirtland's last and first frost, putting it 17,873 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NM, it ranks 128 of 427.
Learn more
Before leaning on 87420's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Kirtland can differ from the 87420 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Kirtland's frost date answer different questions.