Frost dates Texas Fort Worth

Frost dates in Fort Worth, Texas

Last spring frost Mar 5 First fall frost Nov 24 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Fort Worth is Mar 5 and the average first fall frost is Nov 24, measured at FT WORTH MEACHAM FLD NAAF, about 7 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 532°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostNov 2432°F, 50% probability
Days between them264average 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 16Dec 14
50%Mar 5Nov 24
10%Mar 25Nov 3

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Mar 5, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Mar 25. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Nov 3.

Measured at: FT WORTH MEACHAM FLD NAAF, TX (NOAA station USW00093904), about 7 miles away at 705 ft, 11 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • FT WORTH MEACHAM FLD, TX (NOAA station USW00013961), about 7 miles away at 687 ft, 25 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 11, first fall frost Nov 19
  • FT WORTH WSFO, TX (NOAA station USC00413285), about 8 miles away at 644 ft, 24 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 10, first fall frost Nov 20

Seed-starting schedule for Fort Worth, TX

Counted from a last frost date of Mar 5 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Nov 2714 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekNov 27 to Dec 11
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionNov 27 to Dec 11
  2. Week of Dec 413 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyDec 4 to Dec 11
  3. Week of Dec 1112 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryDec 11 to Dec 25
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachDec 11 to Dec 25
  4. Week of Dec 2510 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliDec 25 to Jan 8
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutDec 25 to Jan 8
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageDec 25 to Jan 8
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleDec 25 to Jan 8
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiDec 25 to Jan 8
  5. Week of Jan 19 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceJan 1 to Jan 8
  6. Week of Jan 88 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerJan 8 to Jan 22
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantJan 8 to Jan 22
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperJan 8 to Jan 22
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardJan 8 to Jan 22
  7. Week of Jan 157 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoJan 15 to Jan 29
  8. Week of Jan 226 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilJan 22 to Feb 5
    • Set transplants outSpinachJan 22 to Feb 12
  9. Week of Feb 54 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishFeb 5 to Feb 19
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Feb 5
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipFeb 5 to Feb 19
    • Set transplants outBroccoliFeb 5 to Feb 19
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutFeb 5 to Feb 19
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Feb 5
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Feb 5
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Feb 5
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Feb 5
    • Set transplants outLettuceFeb 5 to Feb 12
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Feb 5
  10. Week of Feb 123 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberFeb 12 to Feb 19
    • Set transplants outParsleyFeb 12 to Feb 19
  11. Week of Feb 192 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonFeb 19 to Feb 26
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinFeb 19 to Feb 26
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashFeb 19 to Feb 26
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashFeb 19 to Feb 26
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniFeb 19 to Feb 26
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoFeb 19 to Feb 26
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Feb 19
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Feb 19
  12. Week of Mar 5Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Mar 5
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Mar 5
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Mar 5
  13. Week of Mar 121 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoMar 12 to Mar 19
    • Set transplants outCucumberMar 12 to Mar 19
    • Set transplants outTomatoMar 12 to Mar 19
  14. Week of Mar 192 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Mar 19
    • Set transplants outEggplantMar 19 to Mar 26
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Mar 19
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Mar 19
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Mar 19
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Mar 19
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Mar 19
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Mar 19

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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