USDA Hardiness Zone 9b
Frost Dates for 78040 — Laredo, Texas
NOAA 1991–2020 normals from Laredo AFB, TX (505 ft), 2 miles northeast.
Updated
A freeze (32°F) reaches Laredo in 74% of winters. When it does, the first fall frost comes around December 25 and the last spring frost around January 20; after February 26 the chance of another is under 7%.
- Last spring frost
- January 20
- First fall frost
- December 25
- Winters with a freeze
- 74%
- Hardiness zone
- 9b
50%, in freezing years
50%, in freezing years
32°F or below, 1991–2020
25 to 30°F (-3.9 to -1.1°C) coldest night
- First snow
- Rare
- Last snow
- Rare
- Winters with snow
- 8%
- Snow per year
- 0.1"
median, 1991–2020
median, 1991–2020
2 of 25 observed
NOAA normal
Frost risk by date in Laredo
In the 74% of winters that bring a 32°F night, half of springs at Laredo AFB, TX see their last 32°F night by January 20; only one in ten is past it by December 16, and one in ten still has one after February 26. Counting the winters with no freeze at all, the risk of a 32°F night after February 26 is under 7% and after January 20 37%. The 37 days between the even-odds date and the one-in-ten date is wider than at 98% of the 339 Texas 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 December 25 in half of years, as early as December 2 one year in ten, and holds off past February 3 one year in ten. A hard freeze of 28°F is less common: it came in 30% of winters. The freeze-free season lasts 344 days in a typical year, longer than at 99% of the 339 Texas stations; it reaches 365 days one year in ten and falls short of 301 one year in ten. On average 2 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 19 days longer, to about February 8, and return around December 11. A 24°F night is unusual: 4% of winters had one.
| Low | 90% | 80% | 70% | 60% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 20% | 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F98% of yrs | Dec 31 | Jan 17 | Jan 25 | Jan 31 | Feb 8 | Feb 16 | Feb 24 | Mar 1 | Mar 9 |
| 32°F74% of yrs | Dec 16 | Dec 27 | Jan 4 | Jan 10 | Jan 20 | Jan 28 | Feb 4 | Feb 14 | Feb 26 |
| 28°F30% of yrs | too rare for a date | ||||||||
| 24°F4% of yrs | too rare for a date | ||||||||
| Low | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% | 80% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F98% of yrs | Nov 23 | Nov 29 | Dec 3 | Dec 7 | Dec 11 | Dec 16 | Dec 23 | Jan 1 | Jan 11 |
| 32°F74% of yrs | Dec 2 | Dec 9 | Dec 15 | Dec 19 | Dec 25 | Jan 1 | Jan 6 | Jan 16 | Feb 3 |
| 28°F30% of yrs | too rare for a date | ||||||||
| 24°F4% of yrs | too rare for a date | ||||||||
Freeze probabilities 1991–2020 at Laredo AFB, TX, 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 78040 →Compare Laredo with another place →
Compared with the next station
The nearest other station, Laredo 2, TX, 4 miles north of Laredo, has a last frost 5 days later (January 25), a first frost 8 days earlier (December 17), a season 15 days shorter.
When it snows in Laredo, Texas
Measurable snow is rare here: only 2 of 25 winters from 1991 to 2020 recorded 0.1 inch or more at Laredo 2, TX, 3.7 miles away, so there is no typical first-snow date to plan around.
Where these figures come from
ZIP 78040 is 2 miles from Laredo AFB, TX, which stands at 505 feet, the nearest NOAA station that publishes freeze probabilities for 1991–2020. 3 other ZIP codes share the station; its figures are presented in full for 78046 (Laredo). The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map lists ZIP 78040 in zone 9b, the band where the coldest night of the year averaged 25 to 30°F (-3.9 to -1.1°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.