Albuquerque, NM Frost Dates: Last Spring and First Fall Frost

Frost leaves Albuquerque on April 15 and comes back on October 27 when the odds are even, a window of 193 days for tender plants.

Put April 30 and October 16 on the calendar as well. A spring freeze after the first of them, or a fall freeze before the second, happens in only one year out of ten, so those dates cover nine years in ten. The median season across the 100 cities on these pages is 229 days; Albuquerque comes up 36 days short of it, 74th on the list.

Behind every date on this page is one weather station, Petroglyph Natl Mon (NOAA USC00296754), 4.3 miles north-west of Albuquerque's internal point in the Census Bureau's files and about 5,100 feet up.

Last spring frost in Albuquerque

Frost is still possible on March 31 in nine springs out of ten and on April 15 in five; only one spring in ten sees a freeze as late as April 30.

Only 30 days separate the earliest and latest of these dates, a tighter run than most of the 100 cities here, so the typical date is a fairly dependable guide in Albuquerque.

When is the first frost in Albuquerque?

NOAA's early fall date for Albuquerque is October 16, its even-odds date is October 27 and its late date is November 7; the first freeze has come by each of them in one, five and nine years out of ten.

Just 22 days separate the early and late dates, tighter than most cities on these pages.

How long is the frost-free season in Albuquerque?

A little less room than the middle of these pages, so count the days before you choose a variety. A short year costs just 18 days against a typical one (175 days against 193 days), so a season-length plan for Albuquerque holds up in most years.

The season lengths come from NOAA's simulated years, not from subtracting one typical date from the other, so the two will not match to the day. At Petroglyph Natl Mon a night at or below 32°F turns up in 100% of years, which means these dates apply every winter.

When a hard freeze reaches Albuquerque

Hard freezes trail the light ones by 8 days in fall (November 4 against October 27) and by 15 days in spring (March 31 against April 15). At the edges, a 28°F night on or after April 16 happens one spring in ten and one by October 23 one fall in ten; the nine-in-ten dates are March 10 and November 17.

What this means for planting in Albuquerque

University of New Hampshire Extension sorts vegetables by how they cope with cold. Cool-season crops go out before the last frost: counting from April 15, cabbage transplants go in on March 18 and lettuce from March 18 to March 25. Tender crops wait until it has passed, with peppers going out on April 29 and beans sown on or after April 15. The University of New Hampshire Extension sheet gives peas no frost count at all; sow them as soon as the soil thaws.

The late date comes 15 days after the typical one; choose it for plants you cannot cover.

Of the 34 crops in the fall planner, 29 still have a July-or-later last planting day in Albuquerque once NC State Extension's days to harvest and University of Georgia Extension's harvest allowance of 18 days are counted back from frost. The other 5 do not. The slowest crop that still fits is Chinese cabbage, at 103 days, and it has to be planted by July 5 to beat the early date.

Worked example: tomatoes in Albuquerque

Suppose you want tomatoes in Albuquerque. University of New Hampshire Extension says to set transplants out one to two weeks after the last frost. Counting from the typical date, April 15, the window runs from April 22 to April 29. Counting from the late date, April 30, it moves to May 7 through May 14, which is 15 days later.

Indoors, tomato seeds go in six to eight weeks ahead of set-out; from the first day of the late window that is March 12 to March 26.

From the last set-out day to the early first frost on October 16 is 155 days. NC State Extension gives 75 to 85 days, and the longer figure still fits with 70 days to spare.

About the Petroglyph Natl Mon station

4.3 miles north-west of the city's internal point, the station is close but not on top of Albuquerque.

Its elevation is about 5,100 feet. Of the 100 stations behind these pages, 3 sit higher and 96 lower. In NOAA's file the record is marked R, meaning representative.

Because the Census file has no elevation for Albuquerque, we cannot say how far your yard is above or below this station. When yours is clearly higher or lower, open the nearby stations in the frost dates tool and favor the colder one.

Nearby cities and their frost dates

Albuquerque is far from its neighbors on these pages: the closest, El Paso, TX, is 225 miles away, so expect its dates to belong to a different climate. Note that the El Paso station stands 1,200 feet lower than Albuquerque's.

• El Paso, TX lies 225 miles south of Albuquerque. Typical last frost March 2, first frost November 20, 261 days between; its last frost comes 44 days before Albuquerque's, and the frost-free season is 68 days longer than Albuquerque's.
• Amarillo, TX, 272 miles to the east: last frost April 13, first frost October 27, 195 days frost-free; its last frost is nearly the same as Albuquerque's, and the season is about the same length as Albuquerque's.
• Colorado Springs, CO, 280 miles to the north: last frost May 3, first frost October 8, 158 days frost-free; the last frost is 18 days later than in Albuquerque, and the frost-free season is 35 days shorter than Albuquerque's.

Take these dates further

Open the frost dates tool with this station already chosen to see the whole ladder of probability dates, or try the nearby stations in the same list. The spring planting planner and the fall planting planner turn the same dates into a full crop list, and the hardiness zone lookup tells you which perennials will survive the winter.

Looking for another city? The city frost dates index lists every page, grouped by state.

Where these numbers come from

The frost and freeze dates are NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals for 1991–2020 (doi:10.25921/4ek7-fk11), copied from the station's own record without adjustment; NOAA's documentation defines each probability. Albuquerque and its internal point are listed in the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer of places; its place in the ranking comes from the Vintage 2024 population estimates, which count 560,326 residents.

University of New Hampshire Extension, NC State Extension and University of Georgia Extension supply the planting rules; this page only counts them from the station's dates. Our methodology describes the tests behind every number.

Frost dates are long-term odds, not a forecast. Before you plant, check the local forecast for the coming week, and keep row cover or old sheets handy for the nights the odds get wrong.