Socorro, TX 88581 Frost Dates
88581, near Socorro, TX: the frost window
Around 03/02 is the usual last spring frost, about 186 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/20, roughly 261 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Socorro in Zone 8b (15 to 20°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
Socorro's growing season runs out in roughly 12 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 03/02 isn't a guarantee
03/02 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 02/12 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 03/19 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Socorro against the rest of the dataset
Socorro's growing season runs about 261 days, ranking 6,372 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within TX, it ranks 1,272 of 2,558.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 88581: zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 8b and Socorro's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range, on how to read the range around Socorro's dates instead of trusting one.