Frost dates in Little Rock, Arkansas

NOAA 1991–2020 normals for a 32 °F freeze. Low spots and the edge of town run colder than downtown.

Short answer

The average last spring frost in Little Rock is March 21, and the average first fall frost is November 10, from NOAA's Little Rock Airport Adams Fld station, 7 miles from the middle of Little Rock. 1 year in 10 the last frost comes after April 6, and the first one by October 29. That leaves about 234 frost-free days. Little Rock is in USDA planting zone 8a.

Weather stations around Little Rock

The first row is the date most people in Little Rock go by. The others show how far the dates move across the area.

Station	Last spring frost	First fall frost	Frost-free
Little Rock Airport Adams Fld 7 mi away, 258 ft	March 21 1 in 10 after April 6	November 10 1 in 10 by October 29	234 days
Little Rock 9 mi away, 568 ft	March 16 1 in 10 after April 2	November 16 1 in 10 by October 31	245 days
Marche 11 mi away, 272 ft	April 1 1 in 10 after April 17	November 1 1 in 10 by October 19	214 days
Benton 18 mi away, 310 ft	March 24 1 in 10 after April 13	November 7 1 in 10 by October 26	228 days
Keo 22 mi away, 231 ft	March 21 1 in 10 after April 6	November 9 1 in 10 by October 27	233 days

Distances are from the middle of Little Rock as the Census Bureau maps it. The average date is NOAA's 50% date: half of years have a later last frost, or an earlier first one. Plan by the 1-in-10 date if a freeze would cost you plants. The planting zone is the USDA 2023 zone for ZIP code 72204, at the middle of the city.

Your exact ZIP code

Little Rock covers a lot of ground. For the station nearest your own street, and its planting zone, type your ZIP code.

How these dates work

Frost dates come from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 Climate Normals, which work out from each weather station's daily lows how likely the last spring freeze and the first fall freeze (32 °F) are by each date. We use the station nearest the middle of your ZIP code and show its height and distance, since a station on a hill or by a lake can differ from your yard.

The average date is the 50% date: half of years have a freeze after the spring date or before the fall one. The 1-in-10 dates are NOAA's 10% dates, the ones to plan by if a late freeze would cost you plants. Within one yard, cold air pools in low spots while walls and paving hold heat, so some corners freeze before others.

More frost dates

All of Arkansas, station by station.

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