Frost dates Nevada Las Vegas

Frost dates in Las Vegas, Nevada

Last spring frost Jan 24 First fall frost Dec 10 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Las Vegas is Jan 24 and the average first fall frost is Dec 10, measured at LAS VEGAS AIR TERMINAL, about 4 miles from the city centre. Below: how sure those dates are, and what to start, sow and set out each week.

Average last spring frostJan 2432°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostDec 1032°F, 50% probability
Days between them320average frost-free season
How sure is that date? NOAA probability levels for a 32°F freeze
ProbabilityFreeze still comes after (spring)First freeze has come by (fall)
90%Dec 27Dec 29
50%Jan 24Dec 10
10%Feb 19Nov 24

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Jan 24, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Feb 19. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Nov 24.

Measured at: LAS VEGAS AIR TERMINAL, NV (NOAA station USW00053123), about 4 miles away at 2,203 ft, 19 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • N LAS VEGAS, NV (NOAA station USC00265705), about 4 miles away at 1,898 ft, 23 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Feb 1, first fall frost Dec 8
  • LAS VEGAS MCCARRAN AP, NV (NOAA station USW00023169), about 7 miles away at 2,131 ft, 28 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Jan 20, first fall frost Dec 15

Seed-starting schedule for Las Vegas, NV

Counted from a last frost date of Jan 24 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Oct 1814 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekOct 18 to Nov 1
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionOct 18 to Nov 1
  2. Week of Oct 2513 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyOct 25 to Nov 1
  3. Week of Nov 112 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryNov 1 to Nov 15
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachNov 1 to Nov 15
  4. Week of Nov 1510 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliNov 15 to Nov 29
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutNov 15 to Nov 29
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageNov 15 to Nov 29
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleNov 15 to Nov 29
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiNov 15 to Nov 29
  5. Week of Nov 229 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceNov 22 to Nov 29
  6. Week of Nov 298 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerNov 29 to Dec 13
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantNov 29 to Dec 13
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperNov 29 to Dec 13
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardNov 29 to Dec 13
  7. Week of Dec 67 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoDec 6 to Dec 20
  8. Week of Dec 136 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilDec 13 to Dec 27
    • Set transplants outSpinachDec 13 to Jan 3
  9. Week of Dec 274 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishDec 27 to Jan 10
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Dec 27
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipDec 27 to Jan 10
    • Set transplants outBroccoliDec 27 to Jan 10
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutDec 27 to Jan 10
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Dec 27
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Dec 27
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Dec 27
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Dec 27
    • Set transplants outLettuceDec 27 to Jan 3
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Dec 27
  10. Week of Jan 33 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberJan 3 to Jan 10
    • Set transplants outParsleyJan 3 to Jan 10
  11. Week of Jan 102 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonJan 10 to Jan 17
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinJan 10 to Jan 17
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashJan 10 to Jan 17
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashJan 10 to Jan 17
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniJan 10 to Jan 17
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoJan 10 to Jan 17
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Jan 10
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Jan 10
  12. Week of Jan 24Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Jan 24
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Jan 24
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Jan 24
  13. Week of Jan 311 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoJan 31 to Feb 7
    • Set transplants outCucumberJan 31 to Feb 7
    • Set transplants outTomatoJan 31 to Feb 7
  14. Week of Feb 72 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outEggplantFeb 7 to Feb 14
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Feb 7
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Feb 7

Not in the city centre? Look up your own ZIP code

More in Nevada

Where the numbers come from

Sources and method

Frost dates. U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Palecki, Durre, Applequist, Arguez and Lawrimore, 2021). These are 30-year station statistics for 1991 to 2020. "Frost" here means an air temperature of 32°F or lower at the station. We use 6,539 stations that have at least 10 years of record and a published date; 176 more are stations where a freeze is too rare for NOAA to date, and 180 are stations cold enough to have frost risk all year.

Probability level. The headline dates are NOAA's 50% level: in half of years the last spring freeze comes later than that date, and in half of years the first fall freeze comes earlier. The 10% and 90% levels are shown next to them. For tender plants, the 10% spring date is the safer one to plan from: a freeze follows it in only 1 year in 10.

Which station. Your ZIP code is matched to the nearest of those stations by straight-line distance from the ZIP code's centre point (GeoNames, geonames.org, CC BY 4.0; 40,979 ZIP codes in the 50 states and DC). Nearest is not always most alike: a station on a hill, in a valley or by the water can differ from your garden by a week or more. That is why the station's name, distance and elevation are shown with every result, along with two more stations nearby. NOAA makes the same point: the normals are limited between stations as distance grows horizontally and vertically.

Seed-starting offsets. Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden, a fact sheet from University of New Hampshire Extension. It gives each crop's weeks from seed to transplant and when it is safe to set out or sow relative to the last frost. The method is theirs too: take the planting date and count back the seed-to-transplant weeks. Where the fact sheet gives a range of planting dates, the start-indoors dates count back from the earliest one. The figures used, as the fact sheet states them:

  • Basil: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Bean: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Broccoli: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Brussels sprout: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cabbage: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cauliflower: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost.
  • Celery: Seed to transplant 10-12 weeks; set out after last frost.
  • Cucumber: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Eggplant: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks after last frost.
  • Kale: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Kohlrabi: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Leek: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Lettuce: Seed to transplant 4-5 weeks; set out 3-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Melon: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Onion: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsley: Seed to transplant 9-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsnip: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Pepper: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Potato: Plant seed potatoes in garden 1-2 weeks before last frost.
  • Pumpkin: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Radish: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Spinach: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 3-6 weeks before last frost.
  • Summer squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Sweet potato: Plant slips in garden 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Swiss chard: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost; or plant seed in garden 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Tomato: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Turnip: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Winter squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Zucchini: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.

Not on the calendar. The same fact sheet times these by soil temperature, not by frost date, so they get no date here:

  • Pea: as soon as the soil thaws.
  • Beet: when the soil warms to 45°F.
  • Carrot: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Corn: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Cucumber, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, zucchini: direct-sow when the soil warms to 70°F.

Rutabaga is left out: the fact sheet gives it New Hampshire calendar dates, not a frost offset.

The fact sheet was written for New Hampshire. The offsets are relative to the last frost, so they carry to other places with a spring frost, but where winters are mild many cool-season crops are grown in fall and winter instead. Your state's extension service has the local calendar. Dates are 30-year statistics, not a forecast: check the forecast before setting tender plants out.

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