Española, NM 87521 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Española, NM, ZIP 87521
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/11, roughly 256 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/06, about 149 frost-free days later.
Española sits in USDA Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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
Zone 6a around Española has about 6 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
05/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/28 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/26 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Española compares
At roughly 149 frost-free days, Española places 35,496 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NM, it ranks 278 of 427.
Learn more
the frost range explains how to read the range around Española's dates instead of trusting one, and local microclimates explains what one yard in Española can differ from the 87521 normal.