Vaughn, NM 88353 Frost Dates
Vaughn, NM: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/28, roughly 243 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/16, roughly 171 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Vaughn 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 7 weeks until Vaughn's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/14 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/09 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Vaughn against the rest of the dataset
About 171 days separate Vaughn's last and first frost, putting it 28,812 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within NM, it ranks 210 of 427.
Learn more
Before leaning on 88353's figures: local microclimates explains what one yard in Vaughn can differ from the 88353 normal, while zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Vaughn's frost date answer different questions.