USDA Hardiness Zone 8b
Frost Dates for 36032 — Fort Deposit, Alabama
NOAA 1991–2020 normals from Greenville Crenshaw Airport, AL (451 ft), 10 miles south.
Updated
In Fort Deposit, the last spring frost (32°F) is around March 8 in half of years and has passed by March 28 in nine years out of ten. The first fall frost comes around November 20, as early as November 4 one year in ten, leaving a typical freeze-free season of 256 days (NOAA, Greenville Crenshaw Airport, AL).
- Last spring frost
- March 8
- First fall frost
- November 20
- Growing season
- 256 days
- Hardiness zone
- 8b
50% probability
50% probability
freeze-free, 50%
15 to 20°F (-9.4 to -6.7°C) coldest night
- First snow
- Rare
- Last snow
- Rare
- Winters with snow
- 15%
- Snow per year
- 0.5"
median, 1991–2020
median, 1991–2020
3 of 20 observed
NOAA normal
Frost risk by date in Fort Deposit
Half of springs at Greenville Crenshaw Airport, AL see their last 32°F night by March 8; only one in ten is past it by February 13, and one in ten still has one after March 28. Planting tender crops after March 17 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after March 22 20%, and after March 28 10%. The 20 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is wider than at 70% of the 115 Alabama stations behind this site's ZIP pages.
In fall the first 32°F night comes by November 20 in half of years, as early as November 4 one year in ten, and holds off past December 11 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 15 days later, around December 5; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is March 15, 13 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 256 days in a typical year, longer than at 84% of the 115 Alabama stations; it reaches 287 days one year in ten and falls short of 228 one year in ten. On average 31 nights a year drop to 32°F or below. Nights of 36°F, when frost can still settle on leaves in low, open spots, continue 17 days longer, to about March 25, and return around November 8. Nights of 24°F, cold enough to damage hardier plants, come in 90% of winters and 16°F in 26%.
| Low | 90% | 80% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 20% | 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | Mar 1 | Mar 10 | Mar 16 | Mar 20 | Mar 25 | Mar 28 | Apr 1 | Apr 6 | Apr 13 |
| 32°F | Feb 13 | Feb 21 | Feb 27 | Mar 3 | Mar 8 | Mar 12 | Mar 17 | Mar 22 | Mar 28 |
| 28°F | Jan 25 | Feb 2 | Feb 9 | Feb 15 | Feb 22 | Feb 27 | Mar 2 | Mar 8 | Mar 15 |
| 24°F90% of yrs | Jan 3 | Jan 14 | Jan 24 | Jan 30 | Feb 2 | Feb 7 | Feb 14 | Feb 24 | Mar 3 |
| 20°F60% of yrs | Dec 28 | Jan 5 | Jan 11 | Jan 16 | Jan 22 | Jan 28 | Jan 31 | Feb 6 | Feb 14 |
| 16°F26% of yrs | too rare for a date | ||||||||
| Low | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | Oct 26 | Oct 31 | Nov 2 | Nov 5 | Nov 8 | Nov 11 | Nov 15 | Nov 19 | Nov 25 |
| 32°F | Nov 4 | Nov 9 | Nov 13 | Nov 17 | Nov 20 | Nov 24 | Nov 28 | Dec 2 | Dec 11 |
| 28°F | Nov 12 | Nov 21 | Nov 27 | Dec 1 | Dec 5 | Dec 9 | Dec 18 | Dec 31 | Jan 6 |
| 24°F90% of yrs | Dec 1 | Dec 5 | Dec 11 | Dec 21 | Dec 29 | Jan 2 | Jan 7 | Jan 15 | Jan 29 |
| 20°F60% of yrs | Dec 11 | Dec 24 | Dec 31 | Jan 3 | Jan 7 | Jan 12 | Jan 16 | Jan 24 | Feb 2 |
| 16°F26% of yrs | too rare for a date | ||||||||
Freeze probabilities 1991–2020 at Greenville Crenshaw Airport, AL, from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Where a temperature is reached in fewer than 99.5% of years, the dates describe only the years that reach it. Not a forecast.
Frost risk on any date in 36032 →Compare Fort Deposit with another place →
Compared with the next station
The nearest other station, Greenville, AL, 14 miles south of Fort Deposit, has a last frost 20 days later (March 28), a first frost 13 days earlier (November 7), a season 32 days shorter.
When it snows in Fort Deposit, Alabama
Measurable snow is rare here: only 3 of 20 winters from 1991 to 2020 recorded 0.1 inch or more at Greenville, AL, 13.6 miles away, so there is no typical first-snow date to plan around.
Planting calendar for 36032
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| December 28 – January 11 | Start peppers and aubergines indoorsThey need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out. |
| January 11 – January 25 | Start tomatoes indoorsSix to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early. |
| February 8 – February 22 | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoorsThese tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil. |
| March 8 onward | Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbersThe average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast. |
| by August 28 | Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicasThey need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops. |
| by November 6 | Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover themA first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation. |
| November 20 onward | Plant garlic, mulch beds, lift tender bulbsGarlic wants a cold spell; bare soil loses structure over winter. |
The weeks before and after the 50% dates are general rules of thumb, not NOAA figures; a seed packet gives the timing for each variety.
Where these figures come from
ZIP 36032 is 10 miles from Greenville Crenshaw Airport, AL, which stands at 451 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 36032 in zone 8b, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged 15 to 20°F (-9.4 to -6.7°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.
Hardiness zone and temperature range: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (USDA-ARS, Oregon State University), ZIP-code listing, unchanged. °C converted from °F by this site.
Thirty-year averages, not a forecast: check the forecast before planting out. How stations are matched and which pages are offered to search engines: methodology.