Frost dates in Houston, Texas
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 Houston is February 2, and the average first fall frost is December 25, from NOAA's Houston-Port station, 7 miles from the middle of Houston. 1 year in 10 the last frost comes after March 5, and the first one by November 27. That leaves about 326 frost-free days. Houston is in USDA planting zone 9b.
Weather stations around Houston
The first row is the date most people in Houston go by. The others show how far the dates move across the area.
| Station | Last spring frost | First fall frost | Frost-free |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston-Port 7 mi away, 19 ft | February 2 1 in 10 after March 5 | December 25 1 in 10 by November 27 | 326 days |
| Houston Hobby Airport 12 mi away, 44 ft | January 30 1 in 10 after March 1 | December 28 1 in 10 by November 27 | 332 days |
| Houston Intercont Airport 14 mi away, 95 ft | February 13 1 in 10 after March 12 | December 9 1 in 10 by November 17 | 299 days |
| Houston Sugarland Mem 20 mi away, 82 ft | February 2 1 in 10 after March 7 | December 11 1 in 10 by November 20 | 312 days |
| Sugar Land 20 mi away, 84 ft | February 9 1 in 10 after March 11 | December 13 1 in 10 by November 19 | 307 days |
Distances are from the middle of Houston 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 77009, at the middle of the city.
Your exact ZIP code
Houston 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 Texas, station by station.
Other Texas cities: San Antonio · Dallas · Fort Worth · Austin · El Paso · Arlington · Corpus Christi · Plano · Lubbock · Laredo · Irving · Garland · Frisco · McKinney · Grand Prairie · Amarillo · Brownsville · Denton · Killeen · Mesquite · McAllen · Pasadena · Waco · Midland · Round Rock
Where the numbers come from
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University (zone data)
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, annual/seasonal
- NOAA, Normals calculation methodology (frost-freeze probability dates)
- US Census Bureau, 2025 ZCTA gazetteer (ZIP code centers)
- US Census Bureau, 2025 city population estimates and place gazetteer