Frost dates Texas Arlington

Frost dates in Arlington, Texas

Last spring frost Mar 9 First fall frost Nov 20 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Arlington is Mar 9 and the average first fall frost is Nov 20, measured at ARLINGTON SIX FLAGS, about 2 miles from the city centre. Below: how sure those dates are, and what to start, sow and set out each week.

Average last spring frostMar 932°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostNov 2032°F, 50% probability
Days between them256average 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%Feb 19Dec 10
50%Mar 9Nov 20
10%Apr 2Oct 31

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Mar 9, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Apr 2. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Oct 31.

Measured at: ARLINGTON SIX FLAGS, TX (NOAA station USC00410337), about 2 miles away at 536 ft, 19 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • ARLINGTON MUNI AP, TX (NOAA station USW00053907), about 5 miles away at 630 ft, 18 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 9, first fall frost Nov 21
  • JOE POOL LAKE, TX (NOAA station USC00414597), about 10 miles away at 591 ft, 17 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 20, first fall frost Nov 13

Seed-starting schedule for Arlington, TX

Counted from a last frost date of Mar 9 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Dec 114 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekDec 1 to Dec 15
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionDec 1 to Dec 15
  2. Week of Dec 813 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyDec 8 to Dec 15
  3. Week of Dec 1512 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryDec 15 to Dec 29
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachDec 15 to Dec 29
  4. Week of Dec 2910 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliDec 29 to Jan 12
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutDec 29 to Jan 12
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageDec 29 to Jan 12
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleDec 29 to Jan 12
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiDec 29 to Jan 12
  5. Week of Jan 59 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceJan 5 to Jan 12
  6. Week of Jan 128 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerJan 12 to Jan 26
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantJan 12 to Jan 26
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperJan 12 to Jan 26
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardJan 12 to Jan 26
  7. Week of Jan 197 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoJan 19 to Feb 2
  8. Week of Jan 266 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilJan 26 to Feb 9
    • Set transplants outSpinachJan 26 to Feb 16
  9. Week of Feb 94 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishFeb 9 to Feb 23
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Feb 9
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipFeb 9 to Feb 23
    • Set transplants outBroccoliFeb 9 to Feb 23
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutFeb 9 to Feb 23
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Feb 9
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Feb 9
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Feb 9
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Feb 9
    • Set transplants outLettuceFeb 9 to Feb 16
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Feb 9
  10. Week of Feb 163 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberFeb 16 to Feb 23
    • Set transplants outParsleyFeb 16 to Feb 23
  11. Week of Feb 232 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonFeb 23 to Mar 2
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinFeb 23 to Mar 2
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashFeb 23 to Mar 2
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashFeb 23 to Mar 2
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniFeb 23 to Mar 2
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoFeb 23 to Mar 2
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Feb 23
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Feb 23
  12. Week of Mar 9Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Mar 9
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Mar 9
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Mar 9
  13. Week of Mar 161 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoMar 16 to Mar 23
    • Set transplants outCucumberMar 16 to Mar 23
    • Set transplants outTomatoMar 16 to Mar 23
  14. Week of Mar 232 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Mar 23
    • Set transplants outEggplantMar 23 to Mar 30
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Mar 23
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Mar 23
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Mar 23
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Mar 23
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Mar 23
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Mar 23

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

More in Texas

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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