Capitan, NM 88323 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.
Capitan sits in USDA Zone 7a (0 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.
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
Capitan's growing season runs about 161 days, ranking 32,085 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within NM, it ranks 244 of 427.
Learn more
Before leaning on 88323's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Capitan can differ from the 88323 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Capitan's frost date answer different questions.