Taos, NM 87539 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Taos, NM?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/31, about 276 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/28, about 118 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Taos in Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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
About 4 weeks of growing season left in Taos before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Taos's last frost
05/31 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/18 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/18 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Taos compares
About 118 days separate Taos's last and first frost, putting it 39,197 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NM, it ranks 387 of 427.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Taos can differ from the 87539 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6b and Taos's frost date answer different questions.