Donald, OR 97020 Frost Dates
97020, near Donald, OR: the frost window
Around 03/16 is the usual last spring frost, about 200 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 11/14, roughly 242 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Donald 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
Donald's growing season runs out in roughly 11 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 03/16 isn't a guarantee
03/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 02/21 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/07 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Donald against the rest of the dataset
Donald's growing season runs about 242 days, ranking 8,387 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within OR, it ranks 118 of 463.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 97020: local microclimates, on what one yard in Donald can differ from the 97020 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 8b and Donald's frost date answer different questions.