Elephant Butte, NM 87901 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Elephant Butte, NM?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 03/30, about 214 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/05, about 220 frost-free days later.
Elephant Butte sits in USDA Zone 8a (10 to 15°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
About 10 weeks of growing season left in Elephant Butte before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Elephant Butte's last frost
03/30 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/08 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Elephant Butte compares
Elephant Butte's growing season runs about 220 days, ranking 12,840 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NM, it ranks 61 of 427.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Elephant Butte's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Elephant Butte can differ from the 87901 normal.