Capitan, NM 88316 Frost Dates
Capitan, NM: when does the frost end?
Around 05/03 is the usual last spring frost, about 248 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/12, roughly 161 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Capitan 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 6 weeks until Capitan's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 05/03 isn't a guarantee
05/03 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/20 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/17 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Capitan against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 161 frost-free days, Capitan places 32,084 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NM, it ranks 243 of 427.
Learn more
Before leaning on 88316's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Capitan's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Capitan's dates instead of trusting one.