Frost Dates for 73573 — Waurika, Oklahoma

Half of springs at Waurika 1ENE Mesonet, OK see their last 32°F night by March 29; only one in ten is past it by March 8, and one in ten still has one after April 19. Planting tender crops after April 6 leaves a 30% risk of a frost on them, after April 11 20%, and after April 19 10%. The 21 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is the widest of the 114 Oklahoma stations behind this site's ZIP pages, so a fixed calendar date is a gamble here.

In fall the first 32°F night comes by November 5 in half of years, as early as October 23 one year in ten, and holds off past November 19 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F follows 9 days later, around November 14; in spring the one-in-ten date for 28°F is April 4, 15 days before the 32°F one. The freeze-free season lasts 223 days in a typical year, longer than at 85% of the 114 Oklahoma stations; it reaches 248 days one year in ten and falls short of 197 one year in ten. On average 65 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 13 days longer, to about April 11, and return around October 28. Nights of 24°F, cold enough to damage hardier plants, come in 100% of winters and 16°F in 89%.

July is the warmest month at Waurika 1ENE Mesonet, OK, averaging 96°F by day and 72°F at night; January is the coldest at 55°F and 30°F. A freezing night is all but certain in every month from November to March (a 90% chance or more). From May to September the chance of a 32°F night stays under 10% each month. In spring, April still brings one in 45% of years.

Warmth for growing adds up to 5,783 growing degree days a year (base 50°F), more than at 98% of the 114 Oklahoma stations. 39% of them (2,282) have built up by the end of June, and July adds the most, 1,058.

The nearest other station, Walters, OK, 22 miles northwest of Waurika, has a last frost 3 days later (April 1), the same first-frost date, a season 5 days shorter.

The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Waurika usually arrives around January 7, and the last of the season around January 30. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Waurika, OK, 0.9 miles away: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Snow fell in 67% of those winters. The last 32°F night of spring typically comes 58 days after the last snow.

ZIP 73573 is under a mile from Waurika 1ENE Mesonet, OK, which stands at 928 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 73573 in zone 8a, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged 10 to 15°F (-12.2 to -9.4°C) over 1991–2020; a zone describes winter lows, not frost dates.