Eugene, OR 97401 Frost Dates
97401, near Eugene, OR: the frost window
Around 04/11 is the usual last spring frost, about 226 days away. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/23, roughly 196 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Eugene 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
Eugene's growing season runs out in roughly 8 weeks — a cold frame or greenhouse kit is the usual way to keep cool-weather crops going past the first frost.
Why 04/11 isn't a guarantee
04/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/15 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.
Eugene against the rest of the dataset
About 196 days separate Eugene's last and first frost, putting it 18,896 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within OR, it ranks 241 of 463.
Learn more
Two guides worth reading on 97401: local microclimates, on what one yard in Eugene can differ from the 97401 normal, and zone vs. frost date, on why Zone 8b and Eugene's frost date answer different questions.