Frost dates in Arkansas

Across Arkansas's 112 NOAA stations with a frost every year, the typical last spring frost ranges from March 10 at Arkansas Post (190 feet above sea level) to April 15 at Fayetteville Drake Field (1,250 feet above sea level). The middle station's date is March 27.

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Last frost across Arkansas

The frost-free season runs from 188 days at Fayetteville Drake Field to 251 days at Arkansas Post.

These are typical dates: in half of springs the last frost comes later. Each place's page, and each ZIP code lookup, also gives the late-year date, after which only 1 spring in 10 has a frost. That's the safer date for tender plants.

Frost dates for Arkansas's larger places

Typical (1-in-2) dates. Each place's page has the early and late years, a planting calendar and a printable planner. Zones are for the ZIP code nearest each place's center.

Hardiness zones in Arkansas

Arkansas's 693 ZIP codes in the USDA list fall in zones 7a to 8b: 7a (11 percent), 7b (23 percent), 8a (54 percent) and 8b (13 percent). Compared with the 2012 map, 72 percent of them moved to a warmer half zone (9 by a full zone or more) and 28 percent stayed the same.

A hardiness zone is about the coldest night of winter, which decides which shrubs, trees and perennials survive. Frost dates are about spring and fall, which decide when to plant. You need both. Read more about what the zones mean and what changed in 2023.

Every NOAA station in Arkansas

All 112 stations in Arkansas with frost statistics in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, from A to Z. Station names are usually a town, an airport, or a distance and direction from a town. Find one near you and at a similar elevation.

Typical (1-in-2) dates at 32°F. For the early and late years, and a planting calendar built from your own dates, look up your ZIP code.