Carlsbad, NM 88221 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Carlsbad, NM, ZIP 88221
Around 03/27 is the usual last spring frost, about 211 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/07, about 223 frost-free days later.
Zone 8a (10 to 15°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 Carlsbad, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 8a around Carlsbad has about 10 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
03/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/07 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/13 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Carlsbad compares
Carlsbad's growing season runs about 223 days, ranking 12,024 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NM, it ranks 56 of 427.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 8a and Carlsbad's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around Carlsbad's dates instead of trusting one.